DUKE 

UNIVERSITY 

LIBRARY 


Estate  of  George  E.  Hartman 


Occult  Sciences  Library  Service 
15  North  Maryland  Avenue 
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DEAN  G.  E.  HARTMAN 
BECKLEY  COU-EGE 
BECKLEY,  W.  VA. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2018  with  funding  from 
Duke  University  Libraries 


https://archive.org/details/spiritmediumship01spra 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSH1P. 


ITS  VARIOUS  PHASES. 

HOW  DEVELOPED,  AND  SAFELY 
PRACTICED. 

A  COMPENDIUM  OF  PSYCHIC  SCIENCE. 
FOR  SEANCES,  CIRCLES  AND  INDIVIDUAL 
USE. 

THE  MEDIUM’S  COMPANION  AND  GUIDE. 


By  Rev.  E.  W.  Sprague 

EX-MISSIONARY  OF  THE  NATIONAL  SPIRITU¬ 
ALIST  ASSOCIATION  OF  THE  UNITED 
STATES  OF  AMERICA,  AND  THIRTY 
YEARS  A  PUBLIC  MEDIUM. 


"How  dear  are  the  moments  of  spirit  communion, 
When  love  seeks  its  own  from  the  realms  of  the  blest, 
Where  souls  may  aspire  in  affectionate  union, 

And  care  fades  away  from  minds  sore  oppressed. 
Beautiful  angels,  Heaven’s  Evangels, 

Commissioned  to  earth  on  your  errands  of  love. 

We  pledge  our  endeavors  and  faithfulness,  ever 
To  stand  by  the  truth,  and  our  loyalty  prove.” 


Published  by 
Rev.  E.  W.  Sprague, 
Detroit,  Mich. 


Copyright,  1912, 

By  Rev.  E.  W.  Sprague, 
Detroit,  Mich. 


INDEX 


Page 

Advice  and  Teachings  of  Spirits  Beautiful .  125 

Automatic  Writing  .  66 

A  Medium’s  Compensation .  101 

Absent  Healing  .  94 

Advice  to  Mediums .  40 

A  Little  Kindly  Advice .  128 

All  Need  Friends .  129 

Auto-Suggestion  .  35 

Book  Announcements  .  133 

Bad  Habits  Cured .  105 

Baths  .  48 

Conditions  Necessary  for  Good  Results .  50 

Clairaudience  .  63 

Communications  not  Infallible .  21 

Conclusion  .  132 

Clairvoyance  and  Clairsentience .  61 

Conscious  Trance  .  73 

Crude  Manifestations,  etc .  37 

Cured  of  the  Tobacco  Habit .  106 

Conditions  Required  .  20 

Cuticle  .  11 

Dark  Circles  .  108 

Difference  Between  Telepathy  and  Mind  Reading....  82 
Dark  Circles  not  for  Mental  Phases . 47 


Page 

Diet  .  47 

Diagnosing  Disease  Clairvoyantly .  89 

Different  Phases  of  Mediumship .  ...  53 

Dermo-Psychography  .  87 

Danger  of  Misleading  Mediums  by  Suggestion .  33 

Elijah  a  Fire  Medium .  71 

Evil  Spirits  .  35 

Elijah’s  Last  Seance .  72 

Etherialization  .  60 

Education  of  Mediums .  12 

Fraudulent  Investigators  .  99 

Facts  to  be  Considered  in  the  Development  of 

Mediumship  .  20 

Fraudulent  Mediums  .  98 

Fire  Fails  to  Burn  Bible  Trio .  72 

Fortune  Tellers  .  98 

Fire  Mediums  .  69 

Foretelling  Events  .  88 

Great  Value  of  Mediumship .  6 

How  to  Form  a  Circle .  43 

How  Spirits  Control  Mediums .  22 

Impersonating  Spirits  .  79 

Impressional  Mediumship  .  65 

Inspiration  .  73 

Impersonation  .  77 

Is  Mediumship  Dangerous? .  27 

Independent  Slate  Writing .  68 


Page 

Indian  Spirits  as  Controls .  Ill 

Impressional  Writing  .  67 

Inspirational  Writing  .  66 

Intuition  .  88 

Impersonation  .  77 

Law  Governs  All .  17 

Mutual  Confidence  of  Mediums  and  Spirits  Essential.  49 

Mediumistic  Development  Explained .  24 

Magnetic  Attractions  .  49 

Mediumship  Governed  by  Laws  of  Both  Worlds .  16 

Mediumship  a  Partnership .  41 

Mediumship  Inherited  .  7 

Mediumship  and  Insanity .  30 

Materialization  .  60 

Mission  of  Mediumship .  127 

Mind  Reading  .  82 

Magnetic  Healing  .  90 

Mediums  Begin  Work  too  Soon . • .  114 

Mediums  Should  Demand  Their  Own  Conditions....  121 

Mediums  Guides  Assist  Other  Spirits .  122 

Mediums  Should  Cultivate  Self-Control .  118 

Matter  or  Spirit .  17 

Moses  a  Fire  Medium .  71 

Mental  Mediums  Subjects  of  Suggestion .  33 

Personation  .  59 

Psychometry  .  85 

Power  of  Mental  Suggestion .  31 

Reading  Pellets  and  Sealed  Questions .  95 

Suggestion  .  31 

Science  and  Mediumship .  103 


Page 

Should  Children  Sit  in  Circles? .  50 

Sub-Conscious  Mind  .  102 

Somnambulism  .  80 

Spirit  Photography  .  76 

Spirit  Writing  on  the  Skin .  87 

Spiritual  Healing  .  91 

Self-Control  .  129 

Spirits  Find  Lost  Spectacles .  96 

Speaking  in  Tongues .  57 

Spirit  Raps  .  55 

Study  of  Mediumship .  15 

Strange  Writings  .  67 

Semi-Conscious  Trance  .  73 

Trance  .  73 

Transfiguration  .  60 

Table  Tipping  .  55 

Trumpet  Speaking  .  56 

Telepathy  .  82 

To  our  Mediums .  118 

To  the  Reader . 130 

Time  for  Seances .  46 

Unconscious  Trance  .  73 

Vibratory  Laws  Govern  Mediumship .  23 

Who  are  Spirit  Mediums? .  10 

Work  of  Mediums  Spirit  Band .  122 

What  is  Spirit  Mediumship?. .  5 


REV.  E 


W 


SPRAGUE. 


DEDICATION. 


First : 

To  the  many  faithful  and  true  mediums  and  their 
noble  guides  and  inspirers  who  have  fought  the  good 
fight  against  the  mighty  forces  of  ignorant  prejudice, 
religious  bigotry,  intolerance,  and  persecution,  that 
the  great  and  saving  truths  of  Modern  Spiritualism 
might  become  the  common  knowledge  of  the  people  of 
this  world. 

Second : 

To  those  who  honestly  seek  to  unfold  their  “spir¬ 
itual  gifts”  or  faculties  and  develop  their  mediumship, 
in  order  to  become  useful  in  the  hands  of  the  spirit 
friends  in  voicing  the  truths  of  a  future  life,  bringing 
health  to  the  physical  bodies  of  men,  peace  and  knowl¬ 
edge  to  their  minds,  with  education  regarding  the  laws 
of  life  and  how  to  live  up  to  their  requirements,  that 
heaven  may  be  realized  upon  earth,  this  volume  is 
lovingly  dedicated. 


PREFACE. 


In  publishing  this  book  the  author  hopes  to  be  of 
some  assistance  in  eliminating  the  absurd  and  ridicu¬ 
lous  vagaries  that  have  become  attached  to  Spiritual¬ 
ism  and  Mediumship,  and  to  help  counteract  the  ex¬ 
travagant  claims  of  some  of  its  opponents  regarding 
“The  Dangers  of  Psychism,”  or  the  practice  of  med¬ 
iumship;  and  most  of  all,  to  give  encouragement  and 
assistance  to  mediums  in  their  laudable  efforts  to  un¬ 
fold  the  beautiful  faculty  and  God-given  gift  of  med¬ 
iumship.  Every  well-developed  medium,  and  every 
well-informed  spiritualist  knows  that  the  application 
of  the  teachings  of  Modern  Spiritualism  is  the  salva¬ 
tion  of  mankind;  and  also  that  modern  Spirit  Med¬ 
iumship  is  the  rock  upon  which  it  rests. 

Experience  is  the  greatest  teacher,  and  the  author  of 
this  book  being  a  medium  himself  with  many  years  of 
active  service,  and  having  personally  experienced 
nearly  every  phase  of  mediumship  mentioned  in  this 
work,  naturally  feels  that  he  is  better  qualified  to 
speak  upon  the  subject  than  are  many  authors  of  note 
who  have  developed  no  mediumship  themselves,  and 
whose  knowledge  of  the  subject  has  come  to  them  sec¬ 
ond  hand,  as  all  they  know  has  been  acquired  by  ob¬ 
servation  of  the  phenomena  occurring  through  others. 

The  facts  here  recorded  are  based  entirely  upon  the 
author’s  thirty  years  and  more  of  daily  experience 
through  his  own  mediumship,  and  the  teachings  of  his 
spirit  inspirers,  as  well  as  through  the  mediumship  of 
many  others.  His  knowledge  of  the  subject  being 
founded  on  personal  experience,  may  furnish  an  ex¬ 
cuse  and  partially  justify  the  frequent  personal  refer¬ 
ence  made  throughout  the  book. 


CHAPTER  I. 


What  Is  Spirit  Mediumship? 

Man  is  a  spirit,  whether  clothed  in  the  mortal  body 
or  inhabiting  a  spiritual  body. 

Mediumship  is  a  natural  faculty  and  belongs  to  the 
spirit  of  man  in  every  sphere  of  life,  the  same  as  all 
of  his  other  faculties. 

Mental  mediumship  illuminates  to  a  great  degree 
every  other  faculty  of  its  possessor.  The  extent  of 
this  illumination  depends  upon  the  degree  of  medium- 
istic  development  attained,  as  well  as  the  degree  of 
unfoldment  of  the  other  faculties.  Mediumship  should 
be  highly  prized  by  every  one,  as  it  is  one  of  the  most 
beautiful,  useful  and  soul-satisfying  faculties  pos¬ 
sessed  by  man  in  the  mortal  form.  Mediumship  may 
be  developed  and  its  power  increased  just  the  same  as 
the  other  faculties. 

The  wisest  and  best  people  of  the  spirit  world,  and 
all  high-minded  Spiritualists  demand  a  mediumship 
embodying  the  highest  morality  and  the  greatest  aspir¬ 
ations  for  the  good,  the  beautiful,  the  intellectual,  the 
true  and  the  spiritual.  While  looking  for  these  blessed 
attributes  we  should  not  forget  the  truth  of  the  words 
attributed  to  Jesus  of  Nazareth:  “None  are  perfect; 
no,  not  one.”  Also:  “Be  ye  perfect  even  as  your 
Father  in  heaven  is  perfect.”  The  last  is  a  beautiful 
ideal  though  it  may  be  impossible  of  attainment ;  and 
yet,  if  we  aspire  for  good  we  must  improve;  such  is 
the  law.  Then  let  us  give  to  the  spirit-friends  the 
very  best  we  can  in  thought,  in  aspiration,  and  in  deed. 

Hope,  prayerful  aspiration,  earnest  effort  and 
cheerfulness  must  fill  our  thoughts  and  lives  if  we 
would  develop  rapidly. 


6 


SPIRIT  MEDIUM  SIIIP- 


“As  wave  after  wave  chase  each  other  in  quick  suc¬ 
cession  over  the  great  ocean’s  breast,  so  do  our 
thoughts  follow  each  other  over  the  mysterious  sea  of 
consciousness.” 

In  sending  out  our  thoughts  upon  this  mysterious 
sea  we  should  know  that  they  are  caught  by  the  angelic 
beings  of  the  soul  realm  who  are  ever  ready  to  respond 
to  them  when  they  are  prayerful  for  good,  and  condi¬ 
tions  will  permit.  This  fact  should  be  sufficient  to 
cause  us  to  think  only  beautiful  thoughts,  elevating 
thoughts,  harmonious  thoughts,  that  we  may  call  to  us 
those  noble  and  exalted  spirits  whose  presence  and 
assistance  we  court  and  appreciate. 

Great  Value  of  Mediumship. 

The  question  of  a  future  life  for  mankind  is  the  all- 
important  question.  Anyone  standing  at  the  grave  of 
his  loved  one  needs  to  know  if  there  is  a  life  beyond, 
where  loved  ones  meet  to  part  no  more. 

Spirit  Mediumship  is  the  gateway  to  knowledge.  It 
is  the  foundation  of  all  religions.  Through  it,  all  that 
is  known  of  a  future  life  for  mankind  has  come. 

If  it  is  true,  as  some  believe,  that  no  spirit  has  ever 
communicated  with  people  of  the  earth,  then  every 
church  of  every  nation  on  earth  is  a  monument  of 
folly,  and  every  bible  a  record  of  falsehood,  and  noth¬ 
ing  whatever  is  known  of  a  future  life  for  the  human 
race. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  the  spirit  of  one  single  man 
who  has  died  has  ever,  at  any  period  in  the  history  of 
the  race,  in  ancient  or  modern  times,  communicated 
with  men  in  the  mortal  form,  and  that  fact  can  be 
positively  established,  then  such  statements  recorded 
in  the  so-called  sacred  writings  of  the  world  may  be 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


7 


accepted  as  possible  truths,  and  the  churches  of  the 
world  may  have  been  erected  upon  a  substantial  foun¬ 
dation;  because  if  one  such  fact  is  fully  established  it 
proves  conclusively  that  man  survives  death,  and  we 
reason  that  if  one  man  continues  to  live  after  death, 
all  men  will  do  so. 

Modern  Spiritualism  has  proved  and  is  daily  demon¬ 
strating  that  man  survives  death ;  therefore,  the  sub¬ 
ject  of  spirit-mediumship  is  of  the  greatest  importance 
to  the  human  race,  since  we  all  must  pass  from  this 
plane  of  life,  and  naturally  are  interested  in  knowing 
if  we  are  to  continue  to  live. 

Mediumship  Inherited. 

A  medium,  like  a  musician,  inventor,  artist,  or  poet, 
is  one  from  birth.  One  may  possess  any  of  these  fac¬ 
ulties  in  a  large  or  small  degree,  and  they  may  be  de¬ 
veloped  by  proper  training.  This  is  certainly  true  of 
mediumship. 

Every  child  should  be  taught  to  appreciate  his  five 
beautiful  senses.  How  lovely  it  is  to  be  able  to  see, 
feel,  hear,  smell  and  taste !  How  wonderful  to  be 
able  to  think,  love,  hope,  aspire  and  reason !  These 
jewels  of  the  soul  are  priceless  treasures;  but 
MEDIUMSHIP  AS  EXPLAINED  AND  PRAC¬ 
TICED  BY  SPIRITS  AND  ENLIGHTENED 
SPIRITUALISTS,  ILLUMINATES  THEM  ALL. 

To  be  able  to  discern  the  presence  of  one’s  spirit 
mother  is  a  blessed  privilege  and  is  highly  appreciated 
by  those  who  are  endowed  with  the  faculty,  as  well  as 
by  others  who  understand  Spiritualism.  Furthermore, 
the  person  endowed  with  this  factulty  is  able  to  dis¬ 
cern  innumerable  other  things,  both  of  the  spirit  and 
the  material  world,  that  otherwise  remain  unseen  and 


8 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSHIP — - 


unknown.  Mediumship  makes  it  possible  to  discern 
temperaments,  dispositions,  capacities,  motives,  de¬ 
sires,  moral,  mental  and  physical  conditions  of  peo¬ 
ple  in  the  mortal  form ;  and  a  thousand  other  things 
in  the  physical,  mental  and  spiritual  realm  that  are 
useful  and  helpful  in  the  development  of  one’s  self  and 
in  helping  others.  For  the  above  stated  reasons  and 
many  others  that  might  be  mentioned,  every  mentally 
well  balanced  person  should  seek  the  best  conditions 
obtainable  and  take  up  the  work  of  mediumistic  un- 
foldment. 

People  who  are  weak  minded  or  mentally  unbal¬ 
anced  should  not  attempt  the  development  of  medium- 
ship  ;  they  should  first  seek  to  attain  proper  control  of 
their  own  minds.  Many  who  have  been  mentally  un¬ 
balanced  have  become  permanently  cured  by  the  aid  of 
mediums  and  thus  prepared  for  the  unfoldment  of 
their  mediumship.  Every  class  of  disease  nearly  has 
been  eradicated  and  the  patients  permanently  healed 
by  spirit  power  exercised  through  mediumship.  A 
proper  development  of  mediumship  strengthens  the 
moral  character,  develops  individuality,  and  prepares 
one  to  meet  the  trials  and  struggles  of  life  in  a  calm 
and  confident  manner.  It  unfolds  the  spiritual  nature, 
develops  optimistic  and  trustful  qualities,  and  helps 
the  medium  to  realize  more  fully  the  beautiful  in  life, 
as  well  as  to  see  that  all  things  work  together  for  good, 
and  that  in  the  ultimate  every  soul  will  find  its  spiritual 
center  when  all  will  be  well. 

The  development  of  the  medial  faculties  is  perma¬ 
nent.  These  powers  we  carry  with  us  into  spirit 
life.  They  are  of  much  greater  value  in  that  sphere  of 
existence  because  everything  there  is  spiritually  dis¬ 
cerned. 


HOW  TO  DEVELOr  IT. 


9 


Our  spiritual  faculties  take  the  place  of  our  so- 
called  five  physical  senses  when  we  reach  the  spirit 
world.  The  little  we  grasp  through  our  spiritual  fac¬ 
ulties  in  this  life,  constitutes  a  safe  promise  of  the 
fact  that  we  shall  discern  more  when  we  arrive  in  the 
great  spiritual  kingdom,  and  are  freed  from  the  limita¬ 
tions  of  these  physical  bodies.  All  this  being  true,  it 
becomes  plain  that  the  development  of  one’s  spiritual 
gifts  is  no  more  nor  less  than  laying  up  treasures  for 
use  in  Heaven.  Whatever  spiritual  development  one 
acquires  in  this  life  will  constitute  his  capital  with 
which  to  enter  the  great  field  of  spiritual  progression 
in  that  better  land ;  therefore,  the  investment  in  these 
powers  is  a  safe  one,  inasmuch  as  it  is  true  that  there 
can  be  no  progression  there  without  them. 

O  that  men  in  the  mortal  could  realize  this  fact  and 
the  great  value  of  the  development  of  these  powers 
while  in  the  earth  form !  It  should  be  clear  to  us  all 
that  we  ought  to  make  the  greatest  effort  to  unfold 
these  powers,  so  as  to  become  well  equipped  for  our 
work  in  the  spirit  land. 

Another  fact  must  be  mentioned.  The  development 
of  the  spiritual  faculties,  while  in  this  life  qualifies 
one  to  return  and  communicate  through  mediums  after 
one’s  transition.  One  possessing  clairvoyant  powers 
here  can,  after  his  transition,  look  back  through  the 
same  faculties  and  see  and  discern  what  is  transpiring 
on  this  side  of  life.  This  truth  will  be  realized  only  in 
accordance  with  the  degree  of  development  acquired 
here. 

In  removing  from  the  comparative  denseness  of  the 
physical  body  to  the  brightness  of  the  spiritual  body 
clearer  perceptions  result,  for  the  denseness  of  the 


10 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSHIP- 


physical  form  limits  the  spiritual  activities.  Dwelling 
in  the  body  disciplines,  and  earthly  experiences  educate 
and  develop  the  spirit,  preparing  it  for  the  higher  life ; 
but  when  the  spiritual  faculties  receive  little  or  no 
development,  one  remains  in  ignorance  of  that  life 
and  is  consequently  in  darkness.  Every  spirit’s  condi¬ 
tion  depends  absolutely  upon  the  state  of  unfoldment 
his  spiritual  faculties  have  received. 

Here  lies  an  important  truth,  one  that  should  be 
known  and  well  understood,  as  it  certainly  affects  us 
all.  It  should  inspire  us  to  put  forth  earnest  effort  to 
obtain  the  development  of  those  spiritual  faculties  with 
which  we  are  endowed.  Every  lesson  pertaining  to 
such  development  that  we  acquire,  is  treasure  laid  up 
for  use  in  the  world  to  come,  and  is  also  a  great  help 
and  blessing  to  us  in  this  life. 

The  unfoldment  of  the  spiritual  powers  consists,  not 
alone  in  the  development  of  the  ability  to  receive  spirit 
messages,  but  in  learning  how  they  are  produced,  and 
in  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  the  beautiful  Spiritual 
Philosophy  that  they  teach  and  portray. 

Who  are  Spirit  Mediums? 

A  spirit  medium  is  one  who  may  be  used  by  spirits 
to  communicate  with  people  in  the  mortal  form 
through  what  is  termed  the  physical  and  mental 
phases  of  mediumship. 

Mental  mediums  are  usually  endowed  with  large 
ideality.  They  possess  lively  imaginations  and  a  love 
of  the  beautiful,  and  are  easily  developed  as  poets, 
artists,  inventors,  etc.  They  attract  spirit  poets  who 
improvise  and  write  poetry  through  them,  and  artists 
who  produce  spirit  pictures  and  other  works  of  art, 
revealing  facts  in  nature,  etc. 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


11 


The  quality  of  these  manifestations,  like  all  others, 
depends  upon  other  and  various  qualifications  of  the 
medium ;  for  instance,  the  quality  of  the  poetry  will 
depend  upon  the  faculty  of  language,  the  temperament, 
rythmic  nature,  etc.,  of  the  medium.  If  his  language 
is  highly  developed,  the  poetry  will  be  more  beautifully 
expressed  than  it  will  if  his  vocabulary  is  small  and 
poorly  developed. 

If  one  would  develop  the  best  mediumship  he  should 
live  an  honest,  simple,  and  pure  life.  It  requires  devo¬ 
tion  to  the  cause,  systematic  methods,  perseverance, 
and  time  for  growth.  Mediumship  in  most  cases  is 
slow  in  its  unfoldment;  but  the  medium  who  properly 
practices  his  powers  never  ceases  in  his  development ; 
he  should  ever  aspire  to  greater  unfoldment  and  live 
up  to  the  laws  governing  it. 

The  spiritual  life  and  personal  mediumship  of  every 
individual  should  be  developed  to  that  extent,  at  least, 
that  he  may  communicate  with  his  own  spirit  friends 
without  the  assistance  of  any  other  medium ;  then  he 
will  know  for  himself  the  great  truth  of  a  life  after 
death  and  the  greatest  source  of  knowledge  will  be 
open  to  him. 

The  Cuticle. 

The  quality  of  the  cuticle  with  which  the  nervous 
system  is  insulated  has  much  to  do  with  one’s  medium- 
ship.  Our  spirit  teachers  tell  us  that  persons  having 
naturally  warm  viscous  skins  are  idealists  according  to 
the  degree  in  which  they  possess  such  cuticle,  and  are 
subject  to  influences  of  a  mental  character.  That  peo¬ 
ple  of  the  class  who  possess  a  cold,  clammy,  or  sticky 
cuticle,  are  also  subjects  of  hypnotic  control  and  pos¬ 
sess  the  elements  requisite  for  the  development  of 


12 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSHIP — 


physical  mediumship.  A  person  may  possess,  in  some 
degree,  both  physical  and  mental  mediumship. 

Persons  having  a  warm,  dry,  silky  cuticle,  free  from 
viscous  or  sticky  conditions  are  not  easily  influenced 
by  mortals  or  spirits. 

The  magnetism  generated  in  the  organism  of  a  heal¬ 
ing  medium  is  warm,  and  the  spiritual  forces  of  the 
controlling  spirit  are  cold,  or  without  warmth,  when 
they  reach  the  organism  of  the  medium ;  but  when 
being  applied  direct  to  the  patient  without  using  a 
medium  they  are  quite  certain  to  produce  a  shock,  or 
a  feeling  of  chilliness  to  the  patient.  This  condition 
is  often  felt  when  one  is  receiving  treatment  from 
spirits  when  alone,  as  well  as  when  being  treated  by  a 
spiritual  healer. 

If  a  spirit  can  move  a  stand,  produce  a  rap,  cause  a 
person’s  hand  to  move  about,  or  cause  him  to  see  a 
spirit  form,  hear  a  spirit  voice,  or  in  any  way  influence 
him,  then  that  person  is  a  medium,  and  by  using  proper 
methods,  his  powers  may  be  developed  just  as  any  of 
his  other  faculties  may  be  unfolded  by  proper  training. 

Therefore,  if  one’s  mediumship  seems  small,  it 
should  be  highly  prized  and  properly  developed  to  a 
greater  degree  of  usefulness. 

Education  of  Mediums. 

Modern  Spiritualism  is  a  great  school.  The  spirit 
friends  are  its  teachers.  Mediums  and  investigators 
are  its  pupils.  Circles,  seances,  psychical  research  so¬ 
cieties,  etc.,  constitute  its  classes.  The  better  pre¬ 
pared  physically,  mentally,  morally,  educationally,  and 
spiritually  the  medium  may  be,  the  wiser  and  more 
spiritual  the  teachers  will  be  whom  he  will  attract. 
The  better  prepared  the  medium  becomes,  the  better 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


13 


the  manifestations  and  communications  he  will  be 
capable  of  receiving.  This  being  true,  mediums  should 
use  every  possible  means,  aided  by  the  spirit  friends, 
to  develop  a  high  appreciation  and  aspiration  for 
truth,  desiring  to  become  useful  instruments  in  the 
hands  of  the  spirit  world  in  bringing  blessings  to  man¬ 
kind. 

The  proper  development  of  mediumship  is  reached 
through  the  unfoldment  of  the  medium’s  mind,  the 
attuning  of  his  brain  and  other  nerves  to  the  higher 
spiritual  vibrations,  the  development  of  the  muscles  to 
great  tension,  the  ability  to  relax  them,  etc.  The 
nerves,  brain,  and  muscles  of  a  developed  medium 
have  undergone  a  great  change.  They  may  be  oper¬ 
ated  by  a  much  higher  vibration  than  of  one  who  is 
not  developed.  The  medium  thinks  more  rapidly, 
feels  more  intensely  and  acts  more  quickly.  He  may 
suffer  more  and  enjoy  more  than  one  not  so  highly 
developed.  Proper  education  regarding  the  laws  of 
life  and  mediumship  places  in  the  hands  of  the  me¬ 
dium  the  ability  to  avoid  suffering  and  enjoy  more 
fully  the  pleasures  of  life. 

Mediums  need  the  education  of  our  schools,  and 
should  inform  themselves  regarding  topics  of  general 
interest  of  the  day. 

There  are  many  uneducated  mediums  who  do  excel¬ 
lent  work,  though  they  may  be  ignorant  of  the  laws 
governing  mediumship.  If  they  were  to  become  dili¬ 
gent  students  of  the  laws  governing  psychic  phenom¬ 
ena,  and  acquire  a  general  understanding  of  the  truths 
of  Spiritual  Science,  they  would  become  more  compe¬ 
tent  to  co-operate  with  their  spirit  helpers  and  their 


2 


14 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSHIP — 


work  would  become  still  more  satisfactory.  Through 
this  education  their  powers  would  be  increased. 

Mediumship  is  a  natural  faculty  and  is  governed  by 
natural  law.  All  mediums  should  thoroughly  acquaint 
themselves  with  the  operation  of  these  laws,  thereby 
learning  how  to  conserve  their  forces,  how  properly  to 
exercise  their  powers  and  reap  the  great  reward  of 
good  health  and  a  clear  and  happy  mind,  while  their 
work  is  being  crowned  with  success. 

The  better  one  is  educated  in  various  lines,  provid¬ 
ing  such  education  does  not  bias  the  mind  or  pervert 
the  reasoning  faculties,  the  better  will  be  his  me¬ 
diumship;  therefore,  every  medium  should  obtain  an 
education  if  possible.  The  Morris  Pratt  Institute,  of 
Whitewater,  Wisconsin,  is  an  excellent  Spiritualist 
school,  and  is  now  open  to  students  who  are  seeking  a 
liberal  religiously  unbiased  education,  and  who  wish 
to  prepare  themselves  for  public  work  in  the  move¬ 
ment  of  Modern  Spiritualism. 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


15 


CHAPTER  II. 

The  Study  of  Mediumship. 

The  home  circle  is  one  of  the  best  places  to  investi¬ 
gate,  study,  and  learn  the  philosophy  of  Spiritualism 
and  the  laws  governing  mediumship. 

Suspicion  of  each  other  is  not  so  prevalent  as  in  the 
public  circle  where  a  fee  is  paid  for  a  medium’s  ser¬ 
vices.  Suspicion  and  mistrust  is  poison  to  sensitive 
mediums  and  is  not  only  painful  to  them,  but  destroys 
conditions  and  retards  the  good  results  that  might 
occur  without  them. 

The  seance  room  is  not  the  only  place  to  study  Spir¬ 
itualism  and  develop  mediumship.  The  investigator, 
as  well  as  the  would-be  medium,  should  study  its  liter¬ 
ature,  attend  lectures  upon  the  subject,  learn  from 
teachers  who  have  had  wide  experience  in  the  work, 
and  become  familiar  with  the  workings  of  its  organiza¬ 
tion.  When  fully  equipped  with  the  teachings  of  its 
philosophy,  the  phenomena  of  the  seance,  etc.,  he  will 
be  much  better  prepared  to  respond  to  the  inspiration 
of  the  wise  and  good  spirits  who  may  wish  to  use  his 
organism  as  a  medium. 

No  one  should  ever  give  up  his  individuality  to  an¬ 
other,  be  that  one  in  the  mortal  form,  or  a  spirit  dis¬ 
embodied.  Wise  and  good  spirits  do  not  require  it ; 
they  act  only  as  advisers  and  teachers,  and  instruct 
the  medium  to  use  his  own  judgment  in  every  instance 
after  receiving  their  advice. 

In  sitting  for  spirit  manifestations,  the  medium 
must  comply  with  the  laws  governing  mediumship 
and  yield  to  the  spirit  guides  for  the  time  being,  but 
when  the  seance  is  over  he  should  control  himself  until 
he  is  ready  to  communicate  with  the  spirit-friends 


16 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSHIP — 


again.  He  should  not  keep  the  door  open  or  even  un¬ 
locked  at  all  times,  but  should  have  a  time  and  place 
for  the  seances  and  confine  himself  to  them.  In  this 
way  he  will  develop  a  healthy  mediumship  and  a 
stronger  individuality. 

If  the  spirit  should  have  something  of  great  impor¬ 
tance  to  communicate  between  the  hours  set  apart  for 
the  circles,  he  would  soon  learn  to  knock  at  the  closed 
door  and  it  would  be  optional  with  the  medium 
whether  he  let  him  in  or  not. 

In  reading  and  studying  Modern  Spiritualism,  Psy¬ 
chic  Science  and  Mediumship,  the  latent  powers  of 
mediumistic  persons  are  stimulated  and  often  brought 
into  activity.  This  constitutes  an  important  part  of 
one’s  mediumistic  development  which  is  as  essential 
and  as  valuable  as  the  assistance  received  from  sitting 
in  circles. 

The  good  people  of  all  the  world  believe  in,  look 
forward  to,  and  prayerfully  hope  for  a  higher  civiliza¬ 
tion  of  mankind ;  when  the  human  race  will  have  be¬ 
come  so  perfectly  developed  that  wisdom,  harmony 
and  truth  shall  reign  supreme,  abiding  with  all  men. 

In  an  enlightened  mediumship  rests  this  hope  of  the 
world. 

Mediumship  Governed  by  Laws  of  Both  Worlds. 

The  more  thorough  knowledge  one  has  of  spirit 
mediumship  and  the  laws  governing  it,  the  better  un¬ 
derstanding  one  will  have  of  Modern  Spiritualism. 
The  facts  revealed  through  mediumship  explain  and 
make  clear  the  truths  of  Spiritualism.  Modern  Spirit¬ 
ualism  is  the  philosophy  of  life  in  this  sphere — and  in 
the  spirit  realms. 

Mediumship  is  the  key  that  unlocks  the  mysteries  of 
life.  It  reveals  the  truths  of  Modern  Spiritualism  and 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


17 


makes  them  clear  to  the  understanding.  Modern  Spir¬ 
itualism  embraces  all  in  life  and  proves  that  life  itself 
continues  after  the  change  called  death.  This  being 
true,  it  may  be  clearly  seen  that  it  is  the  most  stu¬ 
pendous  and  important  fact  that  has  ever  reached  the 
consciousness  of  man  upon  this  earthly  plane  of  life, 
and  naturally  causes  him  to  be  filled  with  reverence, 
wonder  and  thankfulness.  As  he  learns  of  it,  he  be¬ 
comes  inspired  with  the  spirit  of  reverence  for  the 
Great  First  Cause  that  produced  it  all. 

Matter  or  Spirit. 

“We  cannot  affirm  that  the  primordial,  substantial 
entity  of  being  is  matter  or  spirit,  or  both.  We  can 
follow  neither  of  them  to  their  ultimate  or  primary 
conditions.”  (Loveland.) 

Matter,  force  and  spirit  form  a  great  and  wonderful 
trinity  which  controls  all  phenomena  that  our  senses 
are  capable  of  grasping.  Matter  is  visible,  force  and 
spirit  are  invisible.  This  trinity  of  substances  in  a 
unity  of  manifestation  are  all  mysteries  to  us,  and  the 
more  we  study  them,  the  more  we  become  imbued  with 
the  spirit  of  reverence  for  the  Great  Cause  of  it  all. 
Man  in  the  physical  body  is  a  threefold  being.  He  is  a 
combination  of  matter  or  substance,  force  or  energy, 
intelligent  mind  or  spirit. 

Law  Governs  All. 

Everything  in  nature,  whether  visible  or  invisible,  is 
at  all  times  governed  by  law ;  and  the  results  of  the  ac¬ 
tion  of  these  laws_reveal  method  and  purpose  in  their 
manifestation.  The  mode  of  action  of  all  law  is  the 
same  at  all  times,  when  the  same  conditions  prevail. 
Chemistry  proves  this  true. 


aM 


18 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSHIP — 


In  the  investigation  of  the  phenomena  of  Spirit¬ 
ualism  we  should  keep  in  mind  the  fact  that 
there  is  no  other  way  in  this  life  to  learn  of  the  spirit 
world  excepting  through  spirit  mediumship.  All  that 
is  known  of  life  after  so-called  death,  has  come  to 
the  world  through  spirit  mediumship.  There  is  no 
other  class  of  phenomena  that  can  give  the  least  parti¬ 
cle  of  light  upon  the  subject.  There  are  but  two  ways 
open  to  learn  of  a  future  life;  the  one  to  investigate 
spirit  phenomena  given  through  mediumship,  and  the 
other  to  die  and  go  to  that  life  where  one  can  ex¬ 
perience  it. 

We  could  get  no  light  upon  the  subject  by  studying 
the  phenomena  of  the  northern  lights  or  the  science  of 
navigation.  One  must  study  the  laws  governing,  and 
the  manifestations  produced  in,  the  class  of  phenomena 
belonging  to  the  subject  that  he  seeks  to  investigate. 
Therefore,  in  seeking  to  solve  the  mystery  of  spirit 
communion  and  the  cause  producing  spirit  phenomena, 
one  must  study  them  rather  than  to  take  up  the  study 
of  theology  or  of  the  “origin  of  man,”  though  a  knowl¬ 
edge  of  the  latter  might  be  a  great  aid.  It  would  not 
solve  the  question  of  the  origin  of  spirit  phenomena, 
and  all  one  could  know  about  ancient  theology  would 
only  obstruct  his  pathway  in  his  search  for  the  cause 
producing  the  phenomena  of  the  seance  room. 

An  understanding  of  the  laws  of  chemistry  is  very 
helpful  in  the  study  of  the  phenomena  of  Spiritualism 
and  mediumship ;  and  a  knowledge  of  other  sciences 
may  be  of  assistance;  but  spirit  phenomena  must  be 
studied  before  one  will  be  able  to  know  anything  about 
them.  Great  men,  who  are  no  doubt  wise  upon  cer¬ 
tain  scientific  subjects,  have  tried  to  explain  the  phe- 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


19 


nomena  of  Modern  Spiritualism  by  what  they  know 
about  physical  science ;  and  in  many  cases  their  con¬ 
clusions  have  been  erroneous,  and  their  assumptions 
disastrous  to  their  integrity,  and  not  at  all  flattering  to 
their  wisdom. 

The  only  place  to  study  the  phenomena  of  Modern 
Spiritualism  is  the  place  where  it  occurs ;  and  the  only 
proper  way  to  investigate  the  subject  is  to  witness  the 
phenomena,  study  the  laws  governing  them,  weigh  and 
measure  every  manifestation  in  the  balance  scales  of 
reason  controlled  by  an  unbiased  mind.  Thorough¬ 
ness  of  purpose,  well  timed  carefulness  tempered  with 
sincerity,  energy,  and  perseverence,  are  essentials  to 
success  in  this  vast  field  of  research ;  and  he  who  en¬ 
ters  it  with  less  than  these  is  not  assured  of  great  suc¬ 
cess. 

People  even  of  this  day  have  inherited,  or  have  had 
instilled  into  them,  the  superstitious  ideas  of  super¬ 
naturalism.  This  in  a  great  measure  disqualifies  them 
to  enter  the  field  of  the  scientific  investigation  of  the 
phenomena  of  Spiritualism.  Preconceived  opinions 
should  never  bar  one  from  accepting  a  truth  when 
proven,  even  if  it  does  conflict  with  his  earlier  ac¬ 
cepted  opinions. 

It  is  said  that  no  good  thing  is  secured  without 
effort ;  this  applies  in  the  investigation  of  spirit  phe¬ 
nomena.  One’s  mind  must  be  prepared  and  earnest 
effort  put  forth  if  one  would  receive  the  best  results. 
The  development  of  a  clean  and  pure  mind,  liberal 
ideas,  moral  culture  and  intellectual  ability,  as  well  as 
high  and  holy  aspirations  are  essential  to  the  acquisi¬ 
tion  of  the  best  in  Spiritualism.  None  have  yet  re¬ 
ceived  the  best  in  mediumship ;  no  one  has  yet  made 


20 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSHIP — 


the  best  conditions  to  receive  it.  We  have  only  plucked 
here  and  there  a  blossom  from  its  sacred  flower  gar¬ 
den,  and  the  aroma  of  those  few  blossoms  has  intoxi¬ 
cated  us  with  its  beautiful  fragrance.  We  must  know 
the  laws  governing  mediumship  and  make  the  neces¬ 
sary  conditions  if  we  would  enjoy  these  heavenly 
blessings. 

Facts  to  be  Considered  in  the  Development  of 
Mediumship. 

In  developing  one’s  mediumship,  it  is  essential  that 
something  of  the  necessary  conditions  for  its  unfold- 
ment  be  understood  by  the  medium,  or  by  some  one  of 
the  members  of  the  circle. 

No  fixed  or  infallible  rule  can  be  given  for  the  de¬ 
velopment  of  all  mediums,  as  their  individualities  dif¬ 
fer.  The  medium,  the  sitters,  and  the  spirits  in  charge, 
must  take  into  consideration  the  state  of  physical 
health,  temperament,  disposition,  tastes,  aspirations, 
etc.,  as  well  as  the  earthly  environments  of  each  me¬ 
dium  and  govern  themselves  accordingly. 

Conditions  Required. 

The  best  conditions  to  bring  to  a  seance  for  spirit 
manifestations  is  a  happy  frame  of  mind  and  a  har¬ 
monious  body.  All  thoughts  of  business  and  strife 
should  be  left  behind.  The  members  should  enter  the 
seance  room  with  prayerful  hearts,  aspirations  for  the 
good,  the  beautiful  and  the  true ;  and  with  the  under¬ 
standing  that  it  is  the  entrance  to  the  most  sacred 
place,  where  perchance  the  angels  of  heaven  may  be 
present  and  communicate  with  them.  Such  may  be 
the  truth,  yet  how  few  realize  it. 

To  be  a  good  spirit-medium  one  should  live  a  good 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


21 


life.  The  better  one  lives  the  more  spiritual  one  be¬ 
comes,  and  the  more  spiritual  will  be  the  manifesta¬ 
tions  received. 

How  much  we  owe  to  the  spirit  friends  who  have 
always  been  so  faithful  to  their  mediums,  even  though 
mediums  have  at  times  neglected  to  fulfil  the  wishes 
of  their  faithful  spirit  teachers. 

Spirit  phenomena  of  whatever  phase  or  class,  are 
natural  phenomena.  There  are  no  miracles.  All  mani¬ 
festations  our  senses  are  capable  of  grasping  are  pro¬ 
duced  through  the  laws  of  nature  and  are  consequently 
natural  phenomena.  Law,  no  doubt,  rules  in  every 
sphere  of  conscious  life. 

May  it  always  be  remembered  that  spirit  friends  are 
people  who  once  lived  in  this  world  and  have  passed 
to  the  higher  life ;  that  they  are  not  gods,  knowing 
everything,  but  that  they  sometimes  make  mistakes, 
though  their  knowledge  far  transcends  ours.  Let  us 
treat  them  as  one  just  man  should  treat  another,  trust¬ 
ing  them  always  unless  they  should  prove  untrust¬ 
worthy,  being  very  careful  not  to  condemn  or  mis¬ 
judge  without  ample  and  unquestionable  proof  against 
them. 


Communications  Not  Infallible. 

Mediums  are  liable  to  err  in  judgment.  When  we 
consider  the  fact  that  they  are  dealing  with  forces 
with  which  the  world  is  unfamiliar,  and  that  these 
forces  are  operating  upon  a  different  plane  of  life,  we 
could  not  reasonably  expect  infallibility  on  the  part  of 
the  medium  or  the  spirit  operator.  Therefore  we 
should  receive  each  message  or  manifestation  and 
judge  it  on  its  merits  alone,  condemning  neither  the 
medium  nor  the  communicating  spirit  for  any  errors 


22 


SriRIT  MEDIUMSHIP — 


that  may  occur,  yet  always  seeking  to  learn  the  reasons 
for  any  discrepancy  or  mistake.  Great  mistakes  are 
made  in  this  life,  and  we  are  much  better  acquainted 
with  needed  conditions  here  than  we  are  with  those  of 
the  spirit-world.  Mathematics  is  a  science,  but  man  in 
the  mortal  with  this  infallible  guide  to  direct  him, 
makes  grievous  mistakes. 

One  of  the  first  things  needful  for  mediums  and  in¬ 
vestigators  to  learn  is  that  spirits  out  of  the  body,  like 
those  in  the  flesh,  are  not  infallible ;  and  mediums 
should  not  be  blamed  for  that  over  which  they  have 
no  jurisdiction  or  control. 

How  Spirits  Control  Mediums. 

Mental  mediums  are  influenced  and  controlled  by 
their  spirit  helpers  and  guides  through  the  same  law 
that  a  hypnotic  subject  is  influenced  or  controlled  by 
a  hypnotist  in  the  mortal  form,  though  as  a  rule  the 
spirit  knows  a  great  deal  more  about  the  law  than  the 
mortal  hypnotist  ever  dreamed  of  knowing. 

A  spirit’s  experience  in  passing  into  the  spirit  world 
is  valuable ;  his  spiritual  perceptions  become  awakened, 
he  has  facilities  for  learning  certain  laws  and  condi¬ 
tions  pertaining  to  the  subject,  which  we  poor  mortals 
have  not  the  faculties  to  comprehend.  Therefore,  it 
is  folly  to  attempt  to  measure  a  spirit’s  psychic  power 
by  the  little  that  is  known  by  mortals  regarding  psy¬ 
chology,  hypnotism,  mesmerism  and  kindred  subjects, 
or  to  condemn  their  practice  as  dangerous.  The  evi¬ 
dence  is  everywhere  to  be  seen  that  such  practice  by 
spirits  is  wholesome  and  helpful  in  every  way. 

Every  mental  medium  is  a  psychic,  and  every  psy¬ 
chic  is  a  medium.  Every  hypnotic  subject  is  a  mental 
medium,  and  every  mental  medium  is  a  hypnotic  sub- 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


23 


ject.  Every  person  is  a  battery  or  dynamo,  generat¬ 
ing  out  of  nature’s  vast  reservoir  a  portion  of  the  mag¬ 
netic  forces  or  electric  powers  which  is  converted  into 
psychic  force  and  animal  magnetism.  This  magnetism 
being  permeated  with  the  vital  forces  of  the  medium 
is  used  through  the  will  power  of  its  generator  in  the 
movement  of  his  body,  in  thinking,  speaking,  etc.  It 
is  acted  upon  also  by  the  will  of  the  spirit  operator 
who  uses  it  to  produce  the  phenomena  of  the  seance 
room,  the  spirit  acting  through  the  mind,  nerves,  and 
muscles  of  the  medium  who  generates  it.  Emma  Rood 
Tuttle,  the  Spiritualist  poet  of  Ohio,  beautifully  illus¬ 
trates  the  vastness  of  this  force  in  the  following  lines: 
“An  atmosphere  more  sublimate  than  air 
Penetrates  all  matter,  be  it  here  or  there ; 

No  finite  power  its  wrappings  can  disperse 
For  its  thin  billows  lave  the  universe ; 

Each  portion  linking  to  all  other  parts, 

Whether  stars,  blossoms,  or  responding  hearts.” 

Vibratory  Laws  Governing  Mediumship. 

The  phenomena  of  light,  heat,  and  electricity  are 
produced  through  the  different  rates  of  etheric  vibra¬ 
tion  and  may  be  discerned  by  the  physical  senses. 
There  is  a  much  more  refined  ether— or  perhaps  it  is 
a  portion  of  the  one  great  ether — which  responds  to 
thought;  and  over  this  great  ocean  of  vibrant  ether, 
thought  travels  at  a  rapidity  outdistancing  the  mighty 
speed  of  the  light  from  the  sun ;  and  wherever  a 
thought  wave  comes  in  touch  with  a  brain  that  is  at¬ 
tuned  to  its  rate  or  velocity  of  vibration,  there  and 
then  it  MUST  record  itself.  This  is  done  through  the 
same  law  that  the  sound  from  the  piano  key  vibrates 


24 


SPIRIT  MEDIUM  SHIP — 


the  string  of  the  violin  when  it  is  attuned  to  the  same 
rate  of  sound  vibration. 

It  is  through  this  law  of  vibration,  carried  into  the 
mental  and  spiritual  realm  of  life,  that  telepathy  and 
spirit  communion  are  accomplished.  Mediumistic 
phenomena  are  not  of  the  realm  of  miracle,  but  are 
natural  phenomena,  and  this  is  one  of  the  great  truths 
that  spirits  through  modern  mediumship  have  re¬ 
vealed  to  the  world. 

Personally,  the  author  has  been  hypnotized  by  both 
mortal  and  spirit  hypnotists — by  the  latter  thousands 
of  times,  and  never  to  his  detriment,  but  always  to  his 
betterment  in  physical  health,  mental  growth,  and  spir¬ 
itual  development.  After  thirty  years  of  almost  daily 
experience  in  the  matter,  he  feels  sufficiently  qualified 
and  should  be  entitled  to  testify  to  its  blessings  and 
helpfulness  against  those  who  condemn  its  practice 
and  seek  to  destroy  Spiritualism  by  their  worthless 
testimony  in  the  matter. 

Some  of  these  pride  themselves  upon  the  fact,  and 
openly  boast  that  they  were  never  mesmerised,  hypno¬ 
tized,  or  controlled  by  man  or  spirit.  Whose  testi¬ 
mony  is  the  more  valuable?  that  of  one  who  has  had 
experience  or  of  one  who  has  not?  It  is  left  to  the 
reader  to  judge. 

Mediumistic  Development  Explained.* 

The  forces  of  the  medium  are  subjective  and  may 
be,  through  practice,  directed  to  a  greater  or  less  de¬ 
gree,  by  his  own  will. 

As  the  medium  learns  how  to  become  passive  to  the 
will  of  his  spirit  assistants,  his  development,  to  the 

*See  reference  to  “Science  of  Spirit  Communion,”  page 
137. 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


25 


degree  that  he  is  able  to  be  directed  by  them,  is 
reached.  Such  development  consists,  therefore,  in 
part,  in  a  knowledge  of  the  laws  governing  and  forces 
employed,  as  well  as  how  to  apply  them.  Education 
of  the  medium  along  this  and  other  lines  constitutes 
the  true  mediumistic  development.  The  spirit  guides 
may  also  need  to  develop  their  psychic  powers  and 
learn  their  lessons,  so  as  to  become  versed  in  the  pro¬ 
cesses  of  spirit  manifestation  and  communication.  It 
is  as  necessary  for  them  as  for  the  mediums.  Often 
the  development  and  education  is  at  the  same  time 
being  acquired  by  those  in  spirit  life  as  by  those  on 
the  mortal  plane. 

When  a  medium  is  going  under  control,  for  the  first 
few  times  at  least,  there  is  a  twitching  of  muscles,  his 
heart  beats  rapidly,  his  chest  heaves,  while  his  breath 
becomes  more  rapid  and  more  labored.  While  this  is 
going  on  the  blood  gathers  to  the  brain  and  the  me¬ 
dium  becomes  more  sensitive  to  his  surroundings. 
Sounds  are  greatly  multiplied ;  everything  is  intensi¬ 
fied  ;  his  imaginative  qualities  increase ;  in  short  the 
rate  of  the  medium’s  physical,  mental  and  spiritual 
vibrations  are  increased  in  a  great  degree.  This  great 
school  of  the  Spiritual  Philosophy  teaches ;  that  be¬ 
ginning  with  the  vibration  of  the  physical,  then  enter¬ 
ing  the  mental,  then  the  spiritual  realms,  the  vibrations 
increase  very  rapidly  every  step  of  the  way ;  that  our 
spirit  friends  live  in  apparently  an  infinitely  higher 
vibration  of  substance,  mind  and  spirit  than  we  do. 
Hence,  in  order  to  communicate  with  them  we  must 
function  on  a  higher  plane,  and  they  must  come  down 
from  their  more  rapid  plane  of  vibration  to  the  highest 
plane  the  medium  is  able  to  reach.  When  the  medium 
and  the  spirit  are  able  to  function  on  the  same  plane 


26 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSHIP — 


of  vibration  they  can  communicate  much  more  easily 
than  we  can  communicate  with  one  another,  because 
one  feels  what  the  other  feels,  and  each  is  impressed 
with  the  other’s  thoughts. 

This  may  be  illustrated  upon  the  physical  side  of 
life  as  follows:  Take  a  number  of  violins,  attune 
them  to  the  same  rate  of  vibration,  and  they  will  all 
respond  when  one  is  played  upon.  If  they  are  not  at¬ 
tuned  alike,  when  one  is  played  upon  there  is  no  re¬ 
sponse  from  the  others;  so  it  is  with  mediumship;  no 
two  mortals  are  functioning  upon  the  same  plane  of 
vibration  at  all  times,  which  is  true  of  the  spirits.  In 
fact,  one  in  the  mortal  is  not  at  all  times  functioning 
upon  the  same  plane  of  vibration,  but  when  two  minds, 
both  in  the  mortal,  or  both  in  the  spirit  world,  or  one  in 
the  mortal  and  one  in  the  spirit  world,  occupy  the  same 
sphere  of  mental  vibration,  they  may  know  each 
other’s  thoughts ;  they  must  know  them ;  and  they  may 
communicate  with  each  other,  mind  responding  to 
mind,  spirit  to  spirit,  as  the  vibration  of  sound  pro¬ 
duced  upon  the  piano  responds  to  the  violin,  and  the 
violin  responds  to  the  piano,  when  both  are  attuned 
alike. 

Thus  it  is  that  spirits  communicate  with  us  through 
the  mental  phases  of  mediumship.  It  is  thus  that  the 
phenomena  of  telepathy  occurring  between  two  peo¬ 
ple  in  the  mortal  form  is  accomplished. 

Heat,  light,  electricity,  different  colors,  etc.,  are  but 
the  results  of  different  rates  of  vibratory  action,  and 
everything  our  consciousness  is  able  to  grasp  is  pro¬ 
duced  by  its  own  necessary  rate  of  vibration. 

Independent  spirit  voices,  music,  etc.,  must  be  pro¬ 
duced  by  sound  vibration,  else  they  could  not  occur. 
The  vibration  of  atoms  produce  men  and  spirits.  Vi- 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


27 


bration  of  ether  produces  spirit-lights.  The  sweet 
odors  sometimes  brought  to  our  seances  are  produced 
through  the  laws  of  vibration. 

Our  mental  mediums,  trance,  inspirational,  impres- 
sional,  etc.,  are,  through  sitting  for  the  purpose,  devel¬ 
oped  to  ascend  into  the  higher  vibrations;  and  the 
spirit  operator,  by  repeated  effort,  learns  to  lower  his 
vibrations  until  both  are  in  the  same  sphere  or  condi¬ 
tions  of  vibratory  action ;  when  this  is  accomplished, 
the  phenomena  occur.  It  is  only  necessary  to  pro¬ 
duce  these  several  conditions  of  vibration,  to  produce 
the  different  phases  of  spirit  manifestations.  Thus, 
spirit  phenomena  are  shown  to  be  natural  phenomena 
produced  through  natural  law. 

Is  Mediumship  Dangerous? 

The  proper  development  and  practice  of  medium- 
ship  is  the  greatest  renovator  of  the  human  system 
and  health-giving  power  known  to  the  human  race ; 
it  has  often  saved  people  from  the  grave  when  every 
other  known  remedy  had  failed. 

There  has  been  a  great  cry  and  much  ado  over  the 
subject  of  “The  Dangers  of  Mediumship.”  “The  Dan¬ 
gers  of  Psychism,”  “Obsession,”  etc.,  coming  mostly 
from  the  opponents  of  Spiritualism.  The  dangers 
have  been  enlarged  and  multiplied  until  many  partially 
developed  mediums  have  become  frightened  and 
ceased  to  continue  their  sittings  for  development. 

It  is  true  that  nearly  everything  of  great  value  be¬ 
comes  dangerous  when  improperly  used.  This  is  true 
of  water,  fire,  electricity,  gas — yet  no  one  thinks  of 
discarding  them  because  they  are  dangerous.  The 
mental  faculties,  when  improperly  used,  or  used  to  ex¬ 
cess,  are  as  dangerous  as  dynamite,  causing  all  sorts  of 


28 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSHIP — 


disease,  both  physical  and  mental ;  yet  no  one  advo¬ 
cates  the  cessation  of  their  use. 

Through  mediumship  we  are  taught  the  Spiritual 
Philosophy  which  includes  Psychic  Science,  or  the 
science  of  the  soul.  By  understanding  it  we  learn  how 
to  avoid  any  dangers  that  might  otherwise  overtake 
us. 

After  many  years  of  experience  as  a  medium,  hav¬ 
ing  seen  nearly  every  phase  of  mediumship  and  ex¬ 
perienced  it,  the  author  feels  qualified  to  express  an 
opinion,  and  gladly  states  that  the  proper  development 
of  mediumship  is  exactly  what  removes  the  dangers. 
The  only  danger  lies  in  not  understanding  the  laws 
governing  these  powers.  In  the  proper  development 
of  mediumship,  the  laws  are  made  clear,  the  dangers 
pointed  out,  intelligent  bands  of  spirits  organized  who 
take  charge  of  the  mediums  and  thus  they  are  placed 
upon  the  rock  of  safety ;  whereas,  without  the  devel¬ 
opment  of  these  powers,  one  who  is  mediumistic  is 
always  in  a  state  of  jeopardy  even  though  he  may  not 
know  that  he  is  a  medium. 

One  who  is  a  medium  to  any  considerable  degree, 
whether  acquainted  with  the  fact  or  not,  is  subject  to 
influences  from  the  mundane  side  of  life,  and  conse¬ 
quently  is  not  safe  until  he  learns  the  laws  governing 
this  faculty,  develops  it  and  cultivates  the  will  power 
to  resist  anything  objectionable.  Sensitive  and  me¬ 
diumistic  people  do  strange  things  at  times  and  they 
themselves  are  sometimes  puzzled  to  understand  why 
they  do  them.  The  true  Spiritual  Philosophy  solves 
this  problem. 

In  developing  mediumship  properly  one  will  learn 
where  any  danger  lies.  He  may  develop  a  strong  in¬ 
dividuality  and  learn  how  to  overcome  or  avoid  such 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


29 


danger ;  whereas,  without  such  development,  though 
unaware  of  the  fact  that  he  possesses  mediumship,  he 
is  left  to  the  mercy  of  circumstances.  The  world  is 
full  of  human  wrecks  who  might  have  been  saved 
from  their  sad  condition  had  they  known  of  the  spir¬ 
itual  faculties  which  they  possessed,  and  had  they 
developed  them  under  the  proper  teachings  of  Modern 
Spiritualism.  Every  person  may  be  to  some  degree 
mediumistic,  and  the  greater  the  degree  the  more  need 
of  its  development.  It  is  dangerous  to  possess  med¬ 
iumship  in  any  considerable  degree  and  remain  in 
ignorance  of  the  fact.  The  only  safety  lies  in  its 
development. 

During  the  many  fruitful  years  of  our  labors  as 
spirit-mediums,  we  have  visited  most  of  the  states  of 
the  Union,  meeting  many  public  mediums  and  mak¬ 
ing  the  acquaintance  of  hundreds  of  private  me¬ 
diums,  and  thousands  of  Spiritualists ;  among  them 
all,  not  a  dozen  persons  were  supposed  to  be 
obsessed.  After  carefully  weighing  the  testimony 
regarding  these  so-called  “obsessed”  persons,  we  are 
frank  to  say  that  we  are  thoroughly  convinced  that 
not  one  of  them  was  obsessed ;  not  one  of  these  cases 
but  could  be  easily  and  satisfactorily  explained  as 
having  been  caused  by  ill  health,  physical  degen¬ 
eracy,  insanity,  mental  weakness,  erroneous  sug¬ 
gestions,  etc. 

The  author  does  not  believe  in  obsession,  providing 
the  term  means  permanent  control  of  a  mediumistic 
person  until  that  person  is  ruined  mentally,  morally, 
and  physically,  as  some  of  the  Theosophic  opponents 
of  Spiritualism  teach. 

He  does  believe  that  temporary  possession  of  a  me¬ 
diumistic  person  by  undeveloped  spirits  may  some- 


3 


30 


SPIRIT  MEDIUM  SHIP — 


times  occur.  He  does  not  believe  that  any  person  who 
possesses  a  healthy  body  and  a  healthy  mind  can  be  ob¬ 
sessed.  No  ill  effects  are  ever  experienced  from  the 
proper  or  legitimate  use  of  mediumship.  When  unde¬ 
sirable  spirits  manifest  through  a  medium  no  one 
should  become  alarmed  in  the  least.  There  is  nothing 
to  cause  alarm.  They  are  usually  brought  to  the  me¬ 
dium  to  be  helped  and  the  medium  as  well  as  the  sit¬ 
ters  should  give  them  welcome,  speaking  kindly  to 
them  and  thus  awaken  the  spirit  of  goodness  within 
them  that  they  may  become  good,  and  perhaps  they 
may  become  spiritually  unfolded,  as  has  often  been  the 
case,  making  good  guides  and  helpers  for  mediums. 

Every  medium  should  make  a  thorough  study  of  the 
magnetic,  electric,  and  spiritual  forces,  the  methods 
employed  by  spirits,  and  the  laws  governing  medium- 
ship;  thus  learning,  among  other  truths  they  reveal, 
how  to  generate  the  forces  and  how  to  conserve  them. 

Mediumship  and  Insanity. 

Much  has  been  said  by  the  opponents  of  Spiritualism 
regarding  the  “Dangers  of  Mediumship,”  their  claims 
being  that  its  practice  leads  to  insanity  and  other  ills. 
In  reply  to  such  claims  I  will  say :  Instead  of  the  prac¬ 
tice  of  mediumship’s  causing  insanity,  the  proper  use 
of  it  is  a  preventative.  It  has  cured  many  who  were 
insane,  and  saved  many  more  from  becoming  so.  We 
have  good  reasons  for  believing  that  mental  de¬ 
rangement  is  invariably  caused  by  some  physical  de¬ 
fect,  which  may  have  been  induced  by  extreme  mental 
action,  and  that  mediumship  is  the  greatest  reorgan¬ 
izer  and  regenerator  of  the  physical  forces  known  to¬ 
day. 

It  was  through  its  regenerative  powers  that  Jesus, 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


31 


Peter,  and  the  other  apostles  cured  their  patients,  and 
this  great  truth  is  being  demonstrated  today  through 
Modern  Mediumship.  The  mind  may  build  up  or  tear 
down  the  body.  Right  thinking  generates  health  vi¬ 
brations;  wrong  thinking  creates  inharmonious  vibra¬ 
tions  resulting  in  sickness,  etc.,  and  when  the  body  is 
in  perfect  equipoise  the  mind  is  right  and  the  mani¬ 
festation  of  the  spirit  within  the  body  is  a  sane  one. 
But  when  the  body  becomes  diseased  or  out  of  equi¬ 
poise  the  spirit  is  not  able  to  manifest  itself  properly 
and  the  results  are  what  is  denominated  insanity. 

The  mind  may  be  called  deranged  because  one  has  a 
belief  in  some  ridiculous  or  impossible  thing,  when  the 
truth  is  the  mind  is  acting  under  the  influence  of  its 
environment. 

Lack  of  mental  development  may  retard  the  rea¬ 
soning  powers,  but  erroneous  reasoning  may  usually 
be  traced  to  either  the  derangement  of  the  physical 
brain,  or  the  lack  of  capacity  of  that  organ  which  one’s 
spirit  is  trying  to  use.  No  one  can  be  insane  when  the 
brain  is  in  perfect  order. 

Since  mediumship  is  a  natural  faculty,  and  the 
proper  use  of  it  places  the  physical  organism  in  a  nor¬ 
mal  condition,  good  health  is  the  natural  result. 

The  proper  development  of  mediumship  should  be 
prayerfully  sought  and  sacredly  cherished  when  at¬ 
tained. 

The  Power  of  Mental  Suggestion. 

To  show  the  power  and  influence  of  a  subtle  sugges¬ 
tion,  we  will  relate  an  incident  that  speaks  for  itself. 

Some  years  ago,  while  working  as  missionary  of  the 
National  Spiritualist  Association  of  the  United  States, 
and  stopping  with  a  gentleman  of  Convoy,  Ohio,  he 


32 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSHIP — 


related  the  following  incident,  stating  that  the  persons 
mentioned  in  the  narrative  were  all  well  known  to  him. 
We  will  not  give  the  names  of  these  persons,  but 
will  use  the  initial  C.  to  designate  the  lady.  The 
story  runs  as  follows :  Mrs.  C,  the  widow  of  one 
of  the  leading  business  men  of  a  nearby  town, 
on  awakening  from  sleep  one  morning  missed  her 
false  teeth ;  and  after  careful  search  could  not  find 
them,  so  concluded  she  had  swallowed  them  in  her 
sleep.  She  began  to  suffer  pain  in  her  stomach. 
The  pain  continued  to  increase  until  it  became  so 
excruciating  that  she  felt  she  could  stand  it  no 
longer.  She  decided  she  would  go  to  a  Columbus 
hospital,  have  an  operation,  and  get  the  teeth 
out  of  her  stomach.  A  horse  and  buggy  was 
brought  out  and  she  was  taken  to  the  depot  of  a  neigh¬ 
boring  village. 

After  she  was  gone  the  teeth  were  found  and  a  ser¬ 
vant  procured  a  neighbor’s  horse  and  buggy  and 
started  after  them  in  the  hope  of  overtaking  them.  On 
his  arrival  at  the  village  depot,  the  train  had  gone  and 
she  was  on  her  way  to  Columbus.  The  servant  gave 
up  the  chase  and  went  up  town.  He  told  a  friend  of 
the  circumstance  and  was  advised  to  telegraph  them 
that  the  teeth  were  found.  This  was  done,  and  the 
telegram  reached  the  lady  at  the  hospital  just  as  the 
doctors  were  about  to  perform  the  operation.  The 
lady’s  pain  ceased  and  she  returned  home  without  sub¬ 
mitting  to  the  operation,  feeling  much  better,  though 
she  was  greatly  humiliated. 

The  foregoing  is  not  an  isolated  case  of  the  power 
of  suggestion.  The  world  is  full  of  similar  ones, 
though  they  are  seldom  recorded. 

We  have  related  these  facts  to  show  what  influence 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


33 


a  suggestion  may  have  on  one  in  his  or  her  normal 
state,  and  would  say:  It  is  a  well  known  fact  that 
mediums  when  under  influence  are  far  more  suscepti¬ 
ble  to  suggestion  than  when  in  the  normal  state,  and 
it  is  important  that  mediums  and  members  of  the  circle 
should  understand  these  facts. 

Mental  Mediums  Subjects  of  Suggestion. 

Every  mental  medium  when  placing  himself  in  a 
condition  to  be  hypnotized  by  his  spirit  helpers,  be¬ 
comes  subject  to  suggestion;  therefore,  it  is  detri¬ 
mental  to  the  medium’s  development  and  to  the  results 
ojf_the  seances  to  suggest  that  there  are,  or  may  be, 
“evil  spirits”  present;  such  suggestion  often  results  in 
the  medium’s  getting  the  idea  that  he  is  obsessed,  and 
when  this  idea  becomes  a  conviction  his  mediumship  is 
ruined. 

When  a  medium  gets  his  mind  full  of  Hudson’s 
theory  of  the  “Subconscious  Mind,”  and  is  filled  with 
fear  of  “Evil  Spirits,”  he  had  better  cease  trying  to 
develop  his  mediumship.  A  belief  in  either  of  these 
theories  is  almost  sure  destruction  to  his  development. 

A  person  seeking  development  of  mediumistic 
powers,  should  have  perfect  faith  and  place  implicit 
trust  in  his  spirit  helpers ;  he  should  become  optimistic, 
looking  upon  the  bright  side  of  life;  he  should  culti¬ 
vate  cheerfulness  and  contentment.  He  should  also 
cultivate  perseverance,  precision,  punctuality,  and 
other  characteristics  necessary  to  success,  as  explained 
in  another  chapter. 

Danger  of  Misleading  Mediums  by  Suggestion. 

It  is  always  detrimental  to  the  results  to  urge  a 
spirit  to  give  his  name,  or  to  insist  upon  his  giving 
some  personal  test.  It  is  much  better  to  give  assur- 


34 


SPIRIT  MEDIUM  SHIP — 


ance  that  one  is  desirous  of  proving  the  truth  of  spirit 
communion,  or  of  hearing  from  the  loved  ones  in 
spirit  life ;  or  a  suggestion  that  sometime  when  condi¬ 
tions  will  permit,  it  would  be  a  great  satisfaction  to  re¬ 
ceive  such  proof,  or  such  a  message,  and  then  bide  the 
time.  If  this  is  fully  carried  out  the  members  of  the 
circle  will  receive  more  proof,  and  more  accurate  mes¬ 
sages  than  if  its  members  make  positive  demands 
upon  the  spirit.  In  continually  asking  for  names  and 
tests,  one  disturbs  the  passivity  of  the  medium’s  mind 
and  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  causes  it  to  act,  and 
through  this  activity  of  the  medium’s  mind,  the  spirit 
is  sometimes — especially  with  an  undeveloped  medium 
— hampered  in  his  effort  to  give  the  test  demanded. 
It  is  therefore  only  proper  to  ask  that  tests — not  a 
certain  one — be  given  whenever  the  spirit  thinks  best 
or  conditions  will  permit.  The  sitters  should  do  every¬ 
thing  in  their  power  to  make  the  medium  feel  that 
they  have  every  confidence  in  him,  and  the  medium 
should  do  everything  in  his  power  to  retain  that  confi¬ 
dence  by  trying  to  make  his  tests  satisfactory  to  the 
sitter. 

Members  of  the  circle  should  be  very  careful  not  to 
mislead  the  medium  by  suggestion.  He  being  a  hyp¬ 
notic  subject  may  be  misled  as  every  student  of  psy¬ 
chology  ought  to  know.  Some  people  who  hold  high 
positions  in  the  educational  world  seem  when  dealing 
with  mediums  to  be  entirely  ignorant  of  the  fact  that 
every  hypnotic  subject  when  in  the  superior  state  is 
influenced  by  suggestions,  mental  impressions, 
thoughts  expressed  or  unexpressed.  The  suggestions 
of  the  sitters  when  strongly  willed  may  sometimes  take 
precedence  over  the  suggestions  of  the  spirit,  especially 
when  the  medium  is  not  well  developed  and,  though 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


35 


he  be  entirely  honest,  he  may  unconsciously  give  the 
thought  of  the  positive  sitter,  thinking  he  is  giving  the 
mental  impressions  received  from  the  spirit. 

Evil  Spirits. 

The  thought  of  the  possible  presence  of  evil  spirits 
in  the  seance  room  is  bad.  The  suggestion  that  there 
may  be  an  evil  spirit  manifesting  or  trying  to  manifest 
is  very  injurious  to  good  results;  and  the  suggestion — 
whether  self  imposed,  or  from  another — that  the  me¬ 
dium  has  an  evil  spirit  obsessing  him,  means  absolute 
ruin  to  his  mediumship,  providing  he  believes  in  the 
horrible  doctrine  of  obsession  and  has  not  learned  the 
beautiful  and  true  lesson  of  Modern  Spiritualism.  So- 
called  “evil  spirits”  are  only  undeveloped  spirits, 
and  may  through  the  medium’s  own  influence  and  ef¬ 
forts,  and  with  the  assistance  of  wise  and  noble  spirits, 
become  useful,  loyal,  faithful,  and  loving  ministering 
angels,  bringing  many  blessings  to  the  mediums,  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  seances,  and  others. 

Good  and  wholesome  thoughts  should  dominate  the 
minds  of  all  who  come  into  the  presence  of  a  medium. 

Auto-Suggestion,  or  Self-Suggestion. 

One  may,  or  may  not  receive  a  suggestion  while 
awake;  it  lies  with  himself  to  do  as  he  pleases  about 
it;  but  when  in  the  hypnotic  state  he  is  free  to  receive 
it  and  hardly  in  a  condition  to  reject  it,  unless  it  is  a 
suggestion  to  do  something  against  his  principles,  or 
something  that  would  involve  his  character,  or  some¬ 
thing  against  his  wishes  when  in  the  normal  state. 

A  well  grounded  suggestion  made  by  one’s  self,  to¬ 
gether  with  an  earnest  prayer  for  spirit  assistance,  has 
healed  many  a  sick  person.  A  suggestion  by  another 
may  be  as  great  in  its  power  if  received  by  the  patient. 


35 


SPIRIT  MEDIUM  SHIP  — 


No  suggestion  is  successful  without  the  co-operation 
of  the  subject  or  his  spirit  helpers.  Many  diseases  are 
overcome  by  the  power  of  suggestion  and  auto  sugges¬ 
tion.  Bad  habits  such  as  the  use  of  morphine,  tobacco, 
liquor,  etc.,  are  cured  by  its  power. 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


37 


CHAPTER  III. 

Crude  Manifestations — Their  Significance 
and  Value. 

“Some  secret  truths  from  learned  pride  concealed, 

To  maids  and  children  are  revealed. 

What,  though,  no  credit  doubting  wits  may  give, 

The  fair  and  innocent  shall  still  receive.” 

— Pope. 

One  of  the  necessary  requisites  for  good  medium- 
ship  is  good  health,  and  this  is  often  almost  miracu¬ 
lously  given  to  the  medium  during  the  process  of  de¬ 
velopment,  the  medium  being  strangely  manipulated. 

Every  spirit  manifestation  occurring  in  a  properly 
organized  developing  circle  has  a  purpose,  a  signfi- 
cance,  and  a  value.  The  seeming  crude  manifesta¬ 
tions,  such  as  muscular  and  nervous  movements,  spas¬ 
modic  breathing,  self-manipulation,  extreme  exercise, 
imitating  the  death  scene  experienced  by  some  one 
who  has  passed  to  spirit  life,  speaking  in  tongues,  pro¬ 
ducing  sounds  that  appear  to  be  only  giberish  or  jar¬ 
gon,  and  many  more  strange  actions  of  the  medium  are 
all  for  a  good  purpose.  It  is  partly  through  these 
peculiar  methods  that  the  spirit  gains  control  of  the 
medium’s  nerves,  muscles,  mind,  and  spirit,  magnetiz¬ 
ing  the  body  and  equalizing  the  forces,  causing  the 
organs  to  perform  their  several  functions  properly. 
By  continuing  such  seances  the  poisons  are  eliminated 
from  the  medium’s  system  and  the  spirit  improves  in 
his  ability  to  control  him.  I  have  never  known  of  a 
medium’s  receiving  the  slightest  injury  or  evil  effects 
from  these  manifestations. 

Mrs.  Sprague  and  the  author  both  passed  through 


38 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSHIP — 


many  such  experiences  and  through  them  she  was 
saved  from  the  grave,  and  physical  development  was 
given  her  that  was  wonderful.  She  weighed  but  one 
hundred  and  sixteen  pounds  and  her  case  was  almost 
hopeless;  she  was  cured  and  became  a  strong  woman, 
weighing  one  hundred  and  eighty-six  pounds,  and  de¬ 
veloped  a  lovely  mediumship  which  she  ha.s  exercised 
in  the  seance  room,  from  the  public  rostrum,  and  in 
public  work  almost  constantly  for  thirty  years,  visit¬ 
ing  most  of  the  states  in  this  great  Union. 

Certain  persons  with  an  insane  desire  to  crush  out 
Spiritualism  are  pointing  to  crude  manifestations  rais¬ 
ing  the  cry  of  “Evil  Spirits,”  “obsession,”  etc.,  and 
teaching  that  mediumship  is  abnormal,  ruinous  to 
health,  and  demoralizing  in  its  effects.  This  is  posi¬ 
tively  untrue.  Mediums  are  made  healthy  physically, 
mentally,  morally  and  spiritually  by  the  proper  prac¬ 
tice  of  mediumship,  and  they  also  heal  thousands  of 
others  by  the  use  of  this  divine  gift.  The  very  term, 
“mediumship”  is  synonomous  with  the  words  “physi¬ 
cal  health,”  “mental  vigor,”  “moral  strength,”  and 
“spiritual  culture,”  with  all  who  know  and  understand 
its  truth ;  and  it  is  a  shame  that  ignorance,  superstition, 
bigotry  and  the  selfish  interests  of  some  people  and 
certain  cults  should  insist  upon  viciously  misrepresent¬ 
ing  and  condemning  it. 

If  crude,  undeveloped,  and  seemingly  evil-disposed 
spirits  manifest,  no  one  should  be  alarmed;  they 
should  be  treated  kindly,  words  of  encouragement  and 
helpfulness  should  be  spoken  to  them.  They  should 
never  be  driven  away,  but  we  should  try  to  help  them. 
Should  messages  be  given  that  prove  untrue  do  not 
always  attribute  them  to  lying  spirits  or  fraudulent 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


39 


mediums,  because  we  have  not  yet  mastered  the 
methods  of  communication,  and  errors  may  occur 
when  no  one  is  to  blame. 

If  mediums  are  strongly  exercised,  become  rigid,  go 
into  contortions  or  enact  the  death  scene  by  imperson¬ 
ating  some  one  who  has  died,  let  no  one  become 
alarmed,  for  these  manifestations  are  great  helps  in 
one’s  mediumistic  development ;  in  fact,  in  some  cases 
they  are  necessary  to  such  development.  The  spirits 
operate  upon  the  muscles,  the  nerves,  and  the  heart 
action  is  lowered  and  raised  at  the  will  of  the  spirit. 
Mediums  are  made  to  dance  and  otherwise  exercise 
while  their  bodies  are  being  magnetized,  and  through 
this  peculiar  process  the  poisons  are  eliminated  from 
their  systems  through  perspiration  and  emanations  of 
the  body ;  in  short,  every  manifestation  through  a 
medium  has  an  object  and  an  important  significance. 
The  more  Spiritualists  become  acquainted  with  the 
purpose  of  each  manifestation — crude  or  otherwise — 
the  better  and  more  rapid  will  be  the  medium’s 
development  and  the  more  perfect  and  satisfactory 
will  be  the  results. 

Crude  manifestations  will  prove  blessings  in  dis¬ 
guise  to  all  who  fear  them  if  they  will  learn  to  submit 
to  them  freely  and  in  the  right  spirit — the  spirit  of 
kindness,  truthfulness,  prayerfulness,  and  love  of  the 
good. 

The  suggestion  of  danger  to  the  medium  uttered  or 
unexpressed  is  detrimental  to  results  in  the  seance.  In 
fact  the  only  danger  lies  in  the  suggestion  of  trouble 
and  the  fear  that  something  may  happen  to  injure  the 
medium. 

The  sitters  as  well  as  the  medium  should  have  abso¬ 
lute  confidence  in  the  medium’s  guardian  spirits. 


40 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSHIP — 


When  something  occurs  that  has  a  tendency  to  cause  a 
suggestion  of  danger,  the  manager  of  the  circle  should 
give  assurance  that  there  is  no  danger.  All  should 
continue  the  singing  to  harmonize  the  conditions. 

Advice  to  Mediums. 

Mediums  should  always  remember  that  in  dealing 
with  spirits  they  are  dealing  with  people,  men  and 
women  who  have  lived  the  life  of  this  world  as  we  are 
now  living  it.  These  people  like  ourselves,  are  not  in¬ 
fallible  in  their  judgment,  though  they  have  the  oppor¬ 
tunity  of  knowing  many  things  that  we  have  not. 

One  should  not  trust  a  spirit  in  anything  that  is  con¬ 
trary  to  his  own  good  judgment,  at  least  not  where 
there  is  much  depending;  but  one  should  trust  a  spirit 
who  has  proved  himself  good  and  true,  as  well  as  com¬ 
petent  to  advise,  just  the  same  as  he  would  trust  such 
a  man  in  the  mortal  form. 

Wise  spirits  do  not  dictate  to  their  mediums  or  seek 
to  rule  them  in  their  own  affairs.  They  simply  advise 
and  leave  it  to  the  medium  to  decide  whether  to  ac¬ 
cept  or  reject  their  advice.  In  the  author’s  experience 
he  was  advised  by  the  spirits  themselves  to  adopt  this 
plan,  which  he  did,  but  whenever  he  rejected  their  ad¬ 
vice,  he  was  the  loser ;  and  whenever  he  accepted  it  he 
succeeded  in  his  undertakings. 

We  were  requested  by  them  never  to  ask  for  advice 
upon  any  subject  or  question  that  we  were  perfectly 
competent  to  decide  ourselves ;  but  when  we  were  in 
doubt  what  to  do,  or  how  to  proceed  in  any  matter,  we 
were  told  to  call  upon  them.  This  we  have  practiced 
all  the  years  of  our  mediumistic  work  and  in  every  in¬ 
stance  it  has  worked  well. 

One  should  never  ask  a  spirit  to  do  for  him  that 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


41 


which  he  can  do  for  himself.  He  should  let  reason 
and  good  common  sense  rule  in  spirit-communion  as  in 
everything  else,  and  always  retain  his  own  individ¬ 
uality  when  not  desiring  spirit  control. 

No  medium  has  the  power  to  control  spirits  causing 
them  to  do  his  bidding.  Spirits  are  not  subject  to 
the  will  of  mediums.  Mediums  should  not  become 
slaves  to  spirits  by  submitting  to  their  every  whim  or 
notion.  Spirits  and  those  dwelling  in  the  mortal  form 
should  each  retain  his  individuality,  being  considerate 
of  each  other’s  wishes,  and  working  together  for  each 
other’s  good  and  the  good  of  all. 

Mediumship  a  Partnership. 

During  the  thirty  years  of  our  development  and 
work  as  mediums,  we  have  never  been  used  by  the 
spirit  friends  contrary  to  our  wishes.  We  have 
always  been  consulted  by  them  in  regard  to  the  work 
and  its  management  and  our  wishes  have  been  re¬ 
spected.  We  have  never  been  led  to  do  things  against 
our  will,  or  without  our  full  and  free  consent. 

In  the  beginning  of  our  development  we  formed  a 
partnership  with  the  spirit  friends  with  whom  we  ar¬ 
ranged  our  plans  of  work,  certain  parts  of  which  were 
assigned  to  different  members  of  our  spirit  band,  and 
other  duties  fell  to  us.  We  then  proceeded  through 
co-operation  to  the  task  of  our  development  and  prep¬ 
aration  for  the  work,  and  have  ever  continued  to  co¬ 
operate  harmoniously  and  successfully  in  dispensing 
the  gospel  of  Modern  Spiritualism  and  demonstrating 
its  truths  to  a  spiritually  starving  world. 

In  subjecting  ourselves  to  the  control  of  the  spirit 
friends,  we  did  so  with  the  full  understanding  that 
they  would  care  for  and  protect  us  against  anything 


42 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSHIP — 


that  might  prove  derogatory  to  our  welfare;  that  our 
individuality  should  not  become  impaired,  but  that  it 
should  become  strengthened  and  more  fully  developed. 

Sometimes  when  wishing  to  experiment  with  our 
mediumship,  to  ascertain  what  they  could  do  through 
us,  they  would  first  ask  our  permission,  and  when  it 
was  granted  they  would  give  detailed  instructions  re¬ 
garding  the  conditions  to  be  made  in  the  circle  and 
forewarn  us  of  anything  that  might  occur  that  would 
have  a  tendency  to  startle  or  frighten  us. 

We  were  never  misled,  deceived,  or  injured,  and 
never  received  a  false  communication  or  a  word  of 
unwholesome  advice  from  our  spirit  friends.  We 
were  greatly  benefited  by  the  development  and  prac¬ 
tice  of  our  mediumship. 

At  times  we  overworked  just  as  people  in  other 
fields  of  labor  do,  though  we  were  advised  and  warned 
against  doing  so.  The  dear  spirit  friends  exercised 
what  to  us  seemed  super-human  powers  on  many  oc¬ 
casions  to  keep  us  from  breaking  down  under  the 
strain  of  the  great  amount  of  work  we  were  doing, 
and  through  our  co-operative  methods,  we  were  able 
to  accomplish  much  that  could  not  have  been  accom¬ 
plished  without  their  assistance. 

Night  after  night  they  worked  over  us  while  we 
were  sleeping,  bringing  us  vital  forces  and  healing  in¬ 
fluences,  and  when  morning  came  our  forces  were 
recuperated  and  we  were  ready  for  our  work  again.* 
The  spirit  friends  have  always  been  honest,  loving 
and  kind  in  their  dealings  with  us,  never  misrepresent¬ 
ing  anything,  never  deceiving  us  in  any  way  what- 

(*For  further  particulars  of  the  great  amount  of  work 
we  accomplished,  see  “A  Future  Life  Demonstrated,”  pp. 
337  to  340.) 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


43 


ever.  They  have  fulfilled  every  promise  and  blessed 
us  beyond  the  power  of  words  to  tell.  We  are  indeed 
grateful  to  the  faithful,  loyal,  loving  members  of  our 
spirit  band ;  we  are  truly  thankful  to  them  for  their 
blessed  guidance  and  great  assistance  in  our  labors  for 
humanity. 

How  to  Form  a  Circle  for  Spirit  Communion. 

A  circle  or  sitting  for  spirit  manifestations  may  con¬ 
tain  two  or  more  persons ;  some  people  say  an  odd 
number — three,  five,  seven,  nine,  or  eleven — is  prefer¬ 
able.  However,  we  do  not  think  the  necessary  num¬ 
ber  can  be  authoritatively  given.  It  made  no  differ¬ 
ence  with  us  in  our  development  how  many  or  how 
few  participated.  If  we  had  a  harmonious  circle, 
large  or  small,  we  received  good  results. 

In  the  formation  of  a  circle  someone  should  be  des¬ 
ignated  as  chairman  and  be  given  charge  of  the  meet¬ 
ings,  and  he  should  carry  out  the  wishes  of  the  spirits, 
the  medium,  and  the  members  of  the  circle.  He  should 
be  the  one  to  whom  the  sitters  should  address  their 
questions,  make  suggestions,  etc.,  that  everything  may 
be  carried  on  in  an  orderly  manner.  A  secretary 
should  also  be  appointed,  who  should  keep  a  record  of 
each  seance,  recording  the  names  of  the  members  pres¬ 
ent,  hours  of  opening  and  closing,  the  occurrences 
and  manifestations,  if  any,  at  each  sitting,  any  dis¬ 
turbance,  good  or  poor  conditions,  etc.  These  records 
may  be  used  as  references,  and  will  help  make  a  his¬ 
tory  of  the  medium’s  development. 

Every  seance  should  be  opened  with  prayer,  or  with  1 
music,  vocal  or  instrumental,  as  the  tendency  of  these 
are  to  concentrate  the  minds  of  the  sitters,  and  har¬ 
monize  the  circle.  Concentration  of  thought  upon  the 


44 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSHIP- 


purpose  of  the  circle,  mental  prayers,  and  spiritual 
aspirations  are  always  helpful. 

Spirit-control  is  at  first  imperfect;  but  through 
practice  the  spirit  develops  the  medium’s  organism  to 
greater  receptivity  and  the  control  becomes  more  per¬ 
fect.  This  is  a  part  of  the  development.  If  one  of  the 
sitters  is  strongly  impressed  to  write,  speak,  sing,  or 
dance,  while  in  the  circle,  he  should  follow  the  impres¬ 
sion,  and  do  as  he  is  impressed  to  do ;  though  not  to  go 
beyond  reason.  Through  such  manifestations  he  may 
be  led  into  a  fuller  unfoldment. 

The  following  code  of  signals  has  been  adopted  by 
Spiritualists  in  receiving  communications  through 
raps  or  table  tippings :  Three  raps  or  three  tips  of  the 
table  signifies  “yes” ;  one  rap  or  tip  of  the  table,  “no” ; 
and  two  raps  or  table  tips,  “doubtful”  or  “don’t  know.” 
In  communicating  through  raps  or  table  tippings,  only 
questions  that  can  be  answered  by  yes  or  no  should  be 
asked. 

If  an  invisible  force  moves  the  table,  or  raps,  it  may 
be  well  to  ask  if  the  spirit  controlling  will  respond  to 
the  calling  of  the  alphabet.  If  three  tips  of  the  table 
or  three  raps  occur,  which  would  be  an  affirmative 
answer,  let  the  chairman  slowly  call  the  alphabet,  giv¬ 
ing  the  spirit  time  to  rap  or  tip  the  table  when  each 
letter  is  spoken ;  and  when  the  letter  has  thus  been 
designated,  let  the  chairman  repeat  the  name  of  the 
letter  and  ask  if  it  is  correct.  If  the  response  is  “yes,” 
then  let  the  secretary  of  the  circle  write  down  the  let¬ 
ter  and  the  chairman  proceed  in  the  same  manner  un¬ 
til  the  whole  name  or  sentence  is  spelled. 

We  know  a  case  where  a  book  of  beautiful  poems 
purporting  to  come  from  different  well  known  poets, 
now  in  spirit  life,  was  all  given  by  this  slow  process. 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


45 


Sometimes  only  one  stanza  would  be  given  in  a  whole 
evening.  It  was  real  poetry,  and  was  remarkably 
characteristic  of  the  authors  communicating. 

Writing  paper,  slate  and  pencils  should  be  placed 
upon  the  table  or  kept  near  at  hand;  then  if  some 
member’s  hand  is  moved  about  or  made  to  pound  the 
table,  let  a  pencil  be  placed  in  the  hand,  and  if  it  does 
not  write  at  first,  be  not  discouraged.  Some  of  our 
best  mediums  have  pounded  tables,  broken  pencils, 
smashed  slates  and  scribbled  over  paper  and  slates  at 
many  circles  before  the  spirits  were  able  to  control 
the  hand  well  enough  to  write;  but  by  persevering  in 
their  sittings,  they  became  successful  in  that  phase. 
Occasionally  a  medium  is  controlled  to  write  in  a  very 
few  sittings. 

Every  medium  possesses  his  or  her  own  peculiar 
characteristics,  temperament,  etc.,  which  must  be  con¬ 
sidered  in  forming  and  carrying  on  a  circle.  The 
medium  and  the  spirit  guides  can  decide  as  to  the 
length  of  time  necessary  for  sittings,  how  to  seat  the 
circle,  and  give  advice  needed  in  carrying  on  the 
seances.  An  undeveloped  medium  may  receive  help 
and  profit  by  the  instructions,  advice  and  magnetic 
treatments  of  well  developed  mediums  and  their  spirit 
bands. 

Let  the  circle  be  composed  of  a  convenient  number 
of  persons  who  are  interested  and  harmonious  with 
one  another,  and  who  will  take  the  trouble  to  be  pres¬ 
ent  at  the  meetings.  It  would  be  well  for  the  sitters  at 
first  to  meet  as  often  as  twice  each  week.  The  fre¬ 
quency  of  the  meeting  should  depend  upon  the  ability 
of  the  sitters  to  be  present  at  each  gathering,  and 
upon  the  manner  in  which  the  medium  is  affected  by 


4 


46 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSHIP — 


the  sittings.  The  good  judgment  of  the  medium  and 
members,  after  considering  the  advice  of  the  spirit 
guides,  should  decide  all  questions  of  this  character. 

We  held  our  sittings  and  circles  every  evening  of 
the  year  for  six  successive  years,  and  twice  each  week 
for  two  years  more,  and  they  did  us  both  good.  Some 
mediums  at  first  do  not  draw  to  themselves  sufficient 
vital  forces  to  replenish  what  is  expended  in  the  prac¬ 
tice  of  their  gifts ;  in  such  cases  too  frequent  sittings 
may  be  detrimental  to  health. 

One  should  not  sit  in  circles  too  often,  or  sit  too 
long  at  one  time,  whether  the  sitting  is  for  one’s  own 
development  or  for  another’s.  In  doing  so  vital  forces 
may  sometimes  become  depleted.  Where  circles  are 
held  but  once,  twice,  or  three  times  each  week,  it  often 
assists  the  development  for  the  medium  to  sit  alone  a 
half  hour  or  more  each  day  on  which  the  circle  is  not 
held.  In  this  way  the  spirit-friends  may  utilize  the 
forces  gathered  at  the  regular  circles.  In  the  develop¬ 
ment  of  mediumship  it  is  better  if  the  medium  is  not 
burdened  with  cares ;  yet  it  is  necessary  that  one  have 
duties  to  perform,  and  something  to  occupy  the  mind 
and  exercise  the  body. 

Time  for  Seances. 

The  best  time  for  circles  is  when  its  members  may 
be  free  from  cares. 

It  is  better  to  have  a  room  set  apart  for  the  seances, 
where  it  is  convenient.  The  sitters  should  be  prompt 
in  taking  their  seats  at  the  appointed  hour  for  the 
seances,  as  the  spirits  may  have  prepared  the  condi¬ 
tions  for  the  work  and  delays  may  be  disastrous  to 
the  results.  Promptness  is  essential  to  good  results. 
The  members  should  occupy  the  same  seats  each  time 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


47 


unless  it  is  thought  advisable  to  make  a  change.  Un¬ 
congenial  persons  should  not  sit  in  circles  together, 
and  certainly  not  side  by  side. 

Where  the  circle  is  not  too  large  it  is  well  to  sit 
around  a  table,  each  sitter’s  hands  resting  upon  it  and 
touching  the  hands  of  those  sitting  each  side,  thus 
forming  a  complete  circle  of  hands  upon  the  table. 
No  person’s  hands  should  touch  together.  If  the  cir¬ 
cle  is  too  large,  dispense  with  the  table  and  form 
around  the  room,  the  members  joining  hands  at  first, 
until  the  battery  is  well  formed  and  the  medium  under 
control,  It  is  always  well  to  ask  permission  of  the 
spirit  manifesting,  before  breaking  the  circle. 

Dark  Circles  Not  for  Mental  Phases. 

No  one  should  sit  in  the  darkness  while  developing 
clairvoyance  if  he  wishes  to  use  this  faculty  in  the 
light.  We  have  met  mediums  who  were  developed  to 
see  clairvoyantly  in  a  dark  room,  but  could  see  nothing 
in  the  light.  Darkness  is  not  necessary  for  the  devel¬ 
opment  of  mental  mediumship.  _It  is  just  as  easy  to 
develop  clairvoyance  and  all  other  mental  phases  in 
the  light  as  in  the  darkness,  and  mediumship  that  is 
developed  in  the  light,  may  be  practiced  in  the  light. 
A  soft  light  shaded  with  a  blue  paper  makes  a  good 
condition.  No  medium  should  sit  in  darkness  to  de¬ 
velop  mental  phases. 

Diet. 

The  members  of  the  circle  should  partake  of  only 
light  suppers,  and  the  medium  should  eat  sparingly,  if 
at  all,  before  entering  the  seance  room.  It  is  better 
for  all,  and  the  medium  especially,  to  abstain  from 
mea^  though  it  may  not  be  absolutely  necessary.  Ani- 


48 


SPIRIT  MEDIUM  SHIP — 


mal  food  develops  the  animal  nature  in  man.  Vegi- 
tarian  animals  are  docile,  not  given  to  fierceness,  fight¬ 
ing,  etc.  Carnivorous  or  meat-eating  animals  are 
savage,  warlike,  and  vicious.  This  shows  the  in¬ 
fluence  of  foods  upon  the  brute  creation.  It  is  far 
better  for  mediums — at  least  while  undergoing 
development — to  abstain  from  meat  eating.  Over¬ 
eating  and  over  indulgence  in  any  direction  is  a 
hindrance  to  mediumistic  unfoldment. 

Baths. 

The  medium  as  well  as  the  sitters  should  take  a 
bath  and  dress  in  clean  clothes  before  entering  the 
seance  room.  The  body  should  be  clean,  the  mind 
pure,  the  thoughts  spiritual,  and  the  time  and  place 
should  be  considered  sacred.  No  evil  thought  should 
be  present  with  anyone  on  such  an  occasion.  The 
more  perfect  confidence  and  sympathy  existing  be¬ 
tween  members  and  medium,  also  between  members  of 
the  circle  and  spirit  friends,  the  better  will  be  the  re¬ 
sults. 

After  having  held  circles  for  some  time,  if  no  mani¬ 
festations  occur,  it  may  be  well  to  change  the  sitters’ 
places  around  the  table ;  and  after  many  sittings  with 
no  results  the  circle  should  be  reorganized,  some  mem¬ 
bers  being  left  out  or  others  added,  thus  changing  the 
conditions.  No  one  should  become  discouraged  if 
months  pass  by  without  their  receiving  some  manifes¬ 
tations.  We  know  of  one  case  where  a  medium  sat  in 
a  circle  twice  a  week  for  more  than  a  year  without 
even  feeling  the  magnetic  currents,  and  then  one  even¬ 
ing  became  thoroughly  entranced,  after  which  he  de¬ 
veloped  rapidly.  Others  have  been  entranced  in  their 
first  circle. 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


49 


Every  member,  and  the  mediums  especially,  should 
obey  the  laws  of  health  to  the  best  of  his  or  her  ability. 
A  healthy  body  and  a  healthy  mind  are  prime  requi¬ 
sites  in  developing  the  best  mediumship. 

Where  a  circle  is  being  held  and  a  spirit  is  manifest¬ 
ing,  the  circle  should  never  be  broken  without  the  con¬ 
sent  of  the  spirit  controlling;  and  if  the  spirits  seemfc 
to  have  difficulty  in  manifesting,  the  members  should 
sing,  or  something  soft  and  low  should  be  played  upon 
the  piano  or  other  instrument.  This  helps  to  create  a 
harmonious  condition  and  contributes  to  the  success  of 
the  seance.  Above  all,  the  members  should  not  expect 
too  much  at  first,  but  should  enter  into  the  work  with 
the  expectation  and  the  determination  of  spending 
months  and  years  if  necessary  in  the  seeking  for  and 
investigation  of  these  great  truths,  being  contented 
with  little,  and  willing  to  bide  the  time  when  more 
shall  be  given. 

Mutual  Confidence  of  Medium  and  Spirits 
Essential. 

One  of  the  necessary  requirements  for  good  results 
in  the  development  of  mediumship  is  confidence  on  the 
part  of  both  medium  and  spirit  teacher.  The  medium 
should  be  honest,  good  and  true  in  all  his  dealings  with 
his  spirit  guides;  and  the  spirit  should  be  the  same 
with  the  medium,  that  mutual  confidence  may  prevail. 

Magnetic  Attraction. 

As  there  are  magnetic  attractions  between  certain 
people  in  the  mortal  form,  so  there  are  magnetic,  elec¬ 
tric,  and  spiritual  attractions  existing  between  spirits 
and  mortals.  “Like  attracts  like.”  This  law  becomes 
operative  in  the  seance  room.  Harmonious  magnetic 


50 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSHIP — 


conditions  among  the  members  of  the  circle,  and  be¬ 
tween  them  and  the  medium,  attract  harmonious  and 
spiritually  developed  spirits,  and  form  conditions  for 
the  best  results.  Each  member  should  strive  to  be¬ 
come  harmonious  and  happy  within  himself  and  thus 
become  harmonious  with  all  his  associates.  Harmony 
is  the  key-note  to  good  results  in  the  seance  room. 

Should  Children  Sit  in  Circles? 

Children  should  not  sit  in  circles  too  often,  nor  too 
long  at  one  time.  Parents  and  guardians  should  never 
compel  children  to  sit  in  circles  against  their  will ;  nor 
should  they  refuse  them  the  privilege  when  they  de¬ 
sire  to  do  so,  unless  that  desire  should  become  abnor¬ 
mal  and  work  injury  to  the  child  physically,  or  inter¬ 
fere  with  his  capacity  to  acquire  lessons  in  school. 
This  sometimes  happens  with  a  child  who  is  over¬ 
worked  in  school.  It  is  usually  better  for  the  child  to 
wait  until  his  school  days  are  over  before  attempting 
to  develop  mediumship. 

Conditions  Necessary  for  Good  Results. 

A  person  possessing  a  strong  positive  will  and  seek¬ 
ing  to  “expose”  the  medium,  or  being  antagonistic  to 
the  medium,  may  sometimes  temporarily  subvert  the 
desire  and  purpose  of  the  controlling  spirit.  This  is 
liable  to  occur  with  a  medium  who  is  not  well  devel¬ 
oped. 

Seekers  for  truth  should  avoid  being  positive,  exact¬ 
ing,  arbitrary,  or  contentious  when  attending  seances, 
or  when  receiving  private  readings,  if  they  wish  to 
receive  good  results. 

When  seeking  communication  with  the  spirit  friends 
one  should  be  in  a  harmonious  frame  of  mind,  enter- 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


51 


ing  the  seance  room  with  the  feeling  that  he  may  be 
about  to  meet  his  angel  mother  or  other  departed  loved 
ones ;  that  he  is  approaching  the  gateway  of  heaven. 
He  should  put  away  all  craftiness  and  deception,  never 
disguising  himself  or  going  in  the  night  for  fear  of 
being  seen,  as  did  Saul  on  his  visit  to  the  woman  of 
Endor.  Sincerity  of  purpose,  aspirations  for  the  good 
and  true,  should  be  the  motive  inspiring  every  move¬ 
ment.  Everyone  should  give  our  mediums  the  glad 
hand,  the  hand  of  loving  kindness  and  protection.  The 
foregoing  conditions  when  fulfilled  will  insure  good 
results. 

Would-be  “exposers”  and  other  opponents  of  Spir¬ 
itualism  should  not  be  encouraged  to  attend  seances. 
It  is  better  to  let  them  wait  until  they  really  desire  to 
know  the  truth. 

Admitting  an  uncongenial  person  to  a  seance  has 
sometimes  changed  the  entire  conditions,  necessitating 
the  readjustment  of  all  previous  arrangements  of  the 
circle  and  deferring  the  manifestations. 

A  spirit  manifesting  should  never  be  urged  to  give 
his  name,  or  to  answer  at  once  any  positive  question. 
It  is  better  to  let  the  spirit  take  his  time  to  do  it,  then 
the  answer  will  probably  be  more  fully  and  satisfac¬ 
torily  given. 

A  pleasant  suggestion  that  it  would  be  gratifying  to 
receive  the  name  of  the  spirit  manifesting,  or  the  an¬ 
swer  to  a  certain  question,  sometime  when  conditions 
are  favorable,  is  much  better  than  to  demand  or  urge 
it.  The  reason  is  plain :  the  former  method  leaves 
the  medium  in  a  passive  condition,  while  the  latter 
has  a  tendency  to  arouse  his  own  mind  to  action  which 
may  become  a  barrier  to  the  will  of  the  spirit  and 


52 


SPIRIT  MEDIUM  SHIP — 


prove  detrimental,  if  not  wholly  disastrous  to  the 
manifestations. 

The  conditions  necessary  for  good  results  in  a 
seance  are  so  subtle  that  if  one  of  the  members  is  very 
tired,  or  suffering  physical  pain,  or  is  mentally  dis¬ 
tressed,  angry,  jealous,  or  harbors  ill  feelings  toward 
any  member  present,  it  is  detrimental  to  the  success 
of  the  seance. 

It  usually  requires  considerable  perseverance  on  the 
part  of  the  members  of  the  circle  to  develop  a  medium, 
and  sometimes  many  sittings  are  necessary  before  any 
manifestations  occur.  Occasionally  a  medium  is  de¬ 
veloped  suddenly.  In  the  latter  case  it  will  be  learned 
that  the  spirits  may  have  spent  years  in  preparing  him 
for  the  production  of  the  phenomena,  and  sometimes 
this  is  done  without  the  knowledge  of  the  medium. 

No  one  on  this  side  of  life  can  realize  the  great 
amount  of  labor,  the  persistent  effort,  and  the  many 
years  sometimes  required  on  the  part  of  the  spirit- 
friends  in  removing  the  obstacles  and  overcoming  ad¬ 
verse  conditions  in  preparing  the  medium  and  bring¬ 
ing  him  into  the  work.  Everyone  should  do  his  best 
to  assist  the  spirit  friends  in  making  good  conditions. 

There’s  no  spot  in  this  wide  world  to  me  that’s  so 
sweet 

As  the  place  where  the  angels  with  earth’s  chil¬ 
dren  meet; 

Where  men  talk  with  angels  through  powers  they 
unfold 

And  hearts  beat  with  gladness  while  love  fills  the 
soul. 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


53 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Different  Phases  or  Mediumship. 

Strictly  speaking,  there  are  but  two  phases  of  spirit- 
mediumship;  namely:  mental  and  physical. 

Mental  mediumship  is  that  phase  in  which  the  spirit 
acts  upon,  or  through  the  mentality  of  the  medium. 

Physical  mediumship  is  that  phase  in  which  the  mag¬ 
netic  aura  and  vital  forces  of  the  medium  are  used  to 
produce  phenomena  of  a  physical  nature,  or  through 
the  use  of  physical  things. 

Mental  and  physical  mediumship  is  divided  and  sub¬ 
divided  into  a  number  of  so-called  phases  which  are 
denominated  as  follows : 


Mental  Phases. 


Inspirational  Speaking. 

Inspirational  Writing. 

Inspirational  Singing. 

Spiritual  Healing,  With¬ 
out  Contact. 

Inspirational  Painting. 

Thought  Transference  by 
Spirit  Aid. 

Objective  Clairvoyance. 

Subjective  Clairvoyance. 

Objective  Clairaudience. 

Subjective  Clairaudience. 

Clairsentience. 

Unconscious  Trance. 

Conscious  Trance. 

Diagnosing  Disease,  Pa¬ 
tient  Present. 

Diagnosing  Disease,  Pa¬ 
tient  Absent. 


Speaking  in  Foreign  Lan¬ 
guages  and  Unknown 
Tongues. 

Reading  Character,  Subject 
Present. 

Reading  Character  from 
Handwriting. 

Reading  Character  from 
Photograph. 

Reading  Character  from 
Sound  of  Voice,  Whis¬ 
tle,  Snap  of  Finger,  etc. 

Improvising  Poetry. 

Prophecy. 

Locating  Minerals. 

Impressional  Mediumship. 

Inspirational  Music. 

Psychometry,  Reading 
from  Articles  in  Public 
or  in  Private. 


54 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSHIP- 


Physical  Phases. 


Spirit  Rappings. 

Writing  by  Planchette 
and  other  Devices. 

Independent  Slate  Writ¬ 
ing. 

Drawing  Pictures  in  the 
Dark  or  When  Blind¬ 
fold. 

Independent  Music — In¬ 
strumental. 

Trumpet  Speaking. 

Independent  Typewriting. 

Independent  Telegraphy. 

Levitation. 

Dermo  Psychography  or 
Writing  in  Blood  Let¬ 
ters  on  the  skin. 

Spirit  Photography. 
Moving  Articles  of 
Furniture  Without 
Contact. 


Spirit  Materialization. 

Spirit  Etherialization. 

Production  of  Flowers. 

Producing  of  “Apports.” 

Passing  of  Matter 
Through  Matter. 

Automatic  Writing. 

Independent  Spirit-Pic¬ 
ture  Making. 

Magnetic  and  Spiritual 
Healing,  by  Contact. 

Transfiguration. 

Independent  Voices  in 
the  Dark. 

Independent  Voices  in  the 
Light. 

Changing  the  Weight  of 
Material  Bodies. 

Luminous  Appearances  of 
Crosses,  Crescents,  etc. 


There  are  other  subdivisions  of  the  two  phases  of 
mediumship,  but  most  of  them  have  been  mentioned. 

Mental  and  Physical  mediumship  are  usually  mani¬ 
fested  in  the  same  medium,  though  one  phase  may 
appear  in  only  a  small  degree  while  the  other  may  be 
well  developed.  Strong  physical  mediumship  is  more 
rarely  developed  in  mediums  of  this  country  than  are 
the  mental  phases. 

Many  of  these  phases  may  manifest  themselves  in 
one  medium  at  times,  and  are  so  closely  related  that 
they  often  blend  one  into  the  other. 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


55 


Spirit  Raps  and  Table  Tipping. 

Many  people  have  mediumistic  qualification  for 
spirit-rappings  or  table-tippings,  or  both.  More  per¬ 
sons  are  developed  for  the  latter  than  the  former 
phase. 

In  the  hope  that  it  may  do  good,  we  wish  to  empha¬ 
size  this  particular  fact;  namely,  he  or  she  in  whose 
presence  the  stand  is  moved,  or  raps  are  produced  by 
an  invisible  force  or  power,  without  the  volition  of  the 
medium  or  other  person  in  the  mortal  form,  is  a  me¬ 
dium  ;  and  by  proper  and  persistent  sittings  may  be¬ 
come  developed  for  other  and  more  desirable  phases  of 
mediumship.  This  is  as  certain  as  the  truths  of  the 
multiplication  table.  Many  of  our  greatest  mediums, 
both  of  the  early  days  of  Spiritualism  and  of  the  pres¬ 
ent  time,  began  their  development  with  this  simple, 
though  beautiful  phase  of  mediumship.  Slow  as  is  the 
process  of  communication,  many  uplifting  messages 
are  received  through  this  method  of  communication. 
Many  persons,  too — through  ignorance  of  the  subject 
— have  either  lost  their  gift  or  ruined  it  by  asking  fool¬ 
ish,  frivolous,  and  ridiculous  questions.  They  thus  turn 
the  sacredness  of  the  seance  into  a  Punch  and  Judy 
show  or  something  more  disgusting. 

Raps  may  be  produced  by  the  spirit  with  great  pre¬ 
cision,  and  through  them  reliable  and  beautiful  mes¬ 
sages  given;  but  at  times  the  messages  are  imperfect 
and  unreliable,  for  the  simple  reason  that  the  spirit 
communicating  cannot  control  the  occult  forces  to 
regulate  the  raps  properly.  The  result  is  the  communi¬ 
cations  become  imperfect.  We  misunderstand  and 
misinterpret  their  true  meaning  and  sometimes  think 
the  spirits  are  deceiving  us,  when  they  are  not.  This 


56 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMS  HIP - 


is  another  source  from  which  is  drawn  the  erroneous 
belief  in  “evil  spirits”  and  “obsession.”  We  know  but 
little  regarding  the  subtle  laws  and  forces  governing 
spirit  phenomena  and  spirit  manifestations,  and  our 
ignorance  of  them  may  prove  to  be  the  only  “evil 
spirit”  to  cause  the  erroneous  communication.  By  per¬ 
severance  and  aspiration  for  good  we  may  greatly  aid 
the  spirit  and  he  may  learn  to  control  the  raps  to  com¬ 
municate  his  messages  correctly ;  and  better  still,  in 
time  he  may  learn  to  control  the  medium  to  give  his 
messages  more  perfectly,  and  more  rapidly. 

Trumpet  Speaking. 

The  question  is  often  asked:  “Why  is  a  trumpet 
used  in  the  seance  for  spirits  to  talk  through?”  The 
answer  is  simple  and  plain.  If  spirits  can  produce  a 
voice  or  a  sound— and  we  know  they  can  and  do — 
that  voice  or  sound  may  be  increased  in  volume  by 
the  use  of  a  trumpet  exactly  as  a  man’s  voice  is  in¬ 
creased  in  volume  by  the  use  of  a  megaphone,  as  is 
shown  by  men’s  announcing  the  departure  of  trains  in 
our  railway  depots,  by  their  announcing  the  time  of 
airship  flights  to  crowds  of  people,  etc. 

The  Christian  people  seem  to  be  the  greatest  doubt¬ 
ers  of  this  phase  of  spiritual  phenomena,  and  it  seems 
to  me  they  should  be  the  last  to  ask  the  above  men¬ 
tioned  question.  Any  Christian  who  may  be  in  doubt 
about  spirits  speaking  or  producing  other  audible 
sounds  should  read  his  bible.  It  contains  many  rec¬ 
ords  of  independent  spirit  voices  and  trumpet  speak¬ 
ing.  They  should  also  read  the  writings  of  Rev.  John 
Wesley,  the  founder  of  Methodism,  regarding  the 
strange  sounds  and  other  spirit  phenomena  produced 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


57 


many  years  ago  in  the  Epworth  home,  John  Wesley’s 
father’s  house. 

Speaking  in  Tongues. 

The  “gift”  or  faculty  of  speaking  in  different  lan¬ 
guages  is  an  important  phase  of  mediumship  when 
rightly  understood.  The  Christian  bible  records  many 
instances  of  its  practice  showing  that  it  has  been  one 
of  the  many  phases  of  spirit  manifestation  for  ages. 
A  large  number  of  modern  mediums  possess  this 
phase  of  mediumship  and  practice  it  more  or  less  at 
times.  They  are  principally  led  to  practice  it  while  in 
the  early  stages  of  their  development;  though  some 
mediums  continue  it  at  times  throughout  their  lives. 
THE  MOST  IMPORTANT  THING  FOR  WHICH 
THIS  PHASE  IS  USED  BY  THE  SPIRIT  IS  IN 
GAINING  CONTROL  OF  THE  VOCAL  OR¬ 
GANS  AND  USING  THEM  INDEPENDENTLY 
OF  THE  MEDIUM’S  MIND.  This  adds  greatly  to 
the  power  of  the  controlling  spirit  in  giving  tests  and 
public  discourses.  Its  practice  also  develops  lung 
power  in  the  medium. 

This  phase  is  also  used  as  a  proof  of  the  fact  of 
spirit  control,  spirit  individuality,  and  spirit  identity. 
The  medium  who  speaks  in  “unknown  tongues”  or 
foreign  languages,  or  is  led  to  use  even  jargon  or  gib¬ 
berish  may  feel  certain  that  he  is  on  his  way  to  a 
higher  development.  Through  its  use  he  may  develop 
into  speaking  in  “unknown  tongues,”  and  from  “un¬ 
known  tongues”  into  speaking  in  foreign  languages, 
and  through  the  use  of  foreign  languages  he  may  be 
developed  to  that  extent  that  he  may  be  used  by  the 
spirit  friends  to  deliver  fine  discourses,  improvise 
poetry,  etc.,  in  his  own  language.  Mediums  speaking 


58 


SPIRIT  MEDIUM  SHIP- — 


in  unknown  tongues  do  not  unconsciously  or  other¬ 
wise  influence  the  thought  being  expressed  through 
their  lips,  and  in  the  practice  of  this  phase  of  medium- 
ship,  the  spirit  develops  the  power  of  giving  his  own 
thought  unbiased  by  the  medium’s  ideas  and  percep¬ 
tions.  Through  its  practice  he  becomes  better  devel¬ 
oped,  and  spirits  of  his  own  language  become  able  to 
express  their  thought  independently  of  the  medium’s 
ideas. 

Some  mediums  have  been  controlled  to  give  lec¬ 
tures  upon  the  philosophy  of  Spiritualism,  first  in  a 
language  with  which  they  were  not  acquainted,  and 
then  were  led  to  reproduce  them  in  their  own  lan¬ 
guage.  Speaking  in  a  foreign  tongue  seems  to  have 
prepared  the  way  for  speaking  in  their  native 
language.  Mediums  should  not  resist  this  phase  of 
mediumship,  but  should  welcome  it,  for  through  it  is 
often  found  the  way  to  the  public  rostrum  and  the 
demonstrations  of  the  seance  room. 

For  records  of  the  practice  of  this  phase  of  medium- 
ship  in  ancient  times,  see  Mark  XVI-17,  Jesus  says : 
“They  shall  speak  with  new  tongues.”  Acts  XIX-6, 
“And  when  Paul  had  laid  his  hands  upon  them  the 
Holy  Ghost  came  upon  them  and  they  spake  with 
tongues  and  prophesied.”  Acts  II-4,  “And  they 
were  all  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  began  to  speak 
with  other  tongues  as  the  spirit  gave  them  utterance.” 
Take  notice  please:  The  spirit  gave  them  utterance. 
This  is  just  what  Spiritualism  teaches.  The  last  quo¬ 
tation  was  from  the  account  of  the  Pentacostal  feast. 
Read  it  all,  please. 

Spiritualists  have  many  such  Pentacostal  feasts  at 
their  seances.  Many  such  passages  might  be  given, 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


59 


but  these  are  sufficient.  Modern  Spiritualism  demon¬ 
strates  the  probable  truth  of  these  passages  of  scrip¬ 
ture  and  Spiritualists  practice  this  phase  of  medium- 
ship  to  the  great  benefit  and  blessing  of  the  world. 
It  is  well  for  mediums  and  Spiritualists  to  know  that 
nearly  every  phase  of  mediumship  practiced  among  us 
today  is  recorded  in  the  scriptures,  and  that  Jesus, 
Paul  and  others  urged  the  “seeking  after  these  gifts.” 

Personation,  Transfiguration,  Etheralization,  and 
Materialization. 

Our  spirit  friends  possess  bodies  in  spirit  life  which 
they  describe  as  being  composed  of  etherialized,  sub¬ 
limated,  spiritualized  matter  or  substance.  This  body 
is  very  appropriately  called  by  St.  Paul,  as  it  is  by 
Spiritualists,  the  “Spiritual  Body.” 

Some  writers  have  denominated  it  the  “fluidic 
body,”  and  Theosophists  and  others  call  it  the  “Astral 
Body.”  It  matters  little  by  what  name  it  is  called,  though 
the  “Spiritual  Body”  is  preferable,  as  that  is  exactly 
what  it  is,  and  is  more  comprehensive.  This  “Spir¬ 
itual  Body”  we  shall  inhabit  when  we  leave  our  physi¬ 
cal  forms,  and  live  in  the  spirit  world. 

There  are  four  degrees  or  phases  of  this  class  of 
spirit  phenomena,  and  they  blend  one  into  the  other. 
They  are  denominated :  personation,  transfiguration, 
etherialization  and  materialization. 

Personation. 

When  a  medium  is  led  to  personate,  the  spirit  makes 
himself  known  by  certain  actions,  manner  of  speech, 
words  spoken,  such  as  death  bed  utterances,  or  repre¬ 
senting  the  physical  condition  that  caused  his  death, 
and  other  manifestations  peculiar  to  him  when  living 
on  earth. 


60 


SPIRIT  MEDIUM  SHIP — 


T  ransfigur  ation. 

A  little  more  control  of  the  medium  and  transfigura¬ 
tion  sometimes  occurs,  in  which  case  the  medium’s 
features  are  transformed  to  represent  those  of  the 
spirit :  his  countenance  is  changed,  and  he  looks  and 
appears  as  the  spirit  did  when  living  in  earth-life. 

Etherialization. 

When  etherialization  occurs,  the  elements  of  the 
spirit  body  do  not  become  sufficiently  condensed  to 
produce  full  materialization,  though  they  enter  the 
realm  or  sphere  of  the  physical  vision  sufficiently  to  be 
discerned  as  a  vapory  substance.  The  vibration  has 
not  become  slow  enough  in  rate,  and  consequently  not 
sufficiently  dense,  to  become  fully  materialized.  It  is 
sometimes  the  case  that  one  can  see  through  an  ether- 
ialized  form,  and  discern  a  light  or  other  object  be¬ 
yond  it  ;  and  one  may  draw  his  hand  through  it  as  he 
would  through  mist  or  smoke. 

Materialization. 

A  slower  vibration  of  the  spiritual  atoms  composing 
the  etherialized  body,  produces  what  is  called  ma¬ 
terialization.  This  is  done  by  the  spirit  who  must 
know  how  to  raise  and  lower  the  rate  of  vibration  of 
his  spiritual  body.  He  must  lower  it  until  it  becomes 
sufficiently  dense  or  solidified  to  appear  as  real  physi¬ 
cal  matter,  else  we  could  not  see  or  feel  it. 

It  has  been  thought  necessary  for  spirits  to  clothe 
themselves  in  the  coarser  elements  of  matter  in  order 
to  materialize  their  bodies,  but  our  spirit  teachers  tell 
us  that  they  only  need  to  lower  the  rate  of  vibration 
of  the  spirit-body  to  conform  to  the  rate  of  vibration 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


61 


of  our  physical  bodies  to  be  with  us  for  the  moment 
on  this  mortal  plane.  It  is  very  difficult  for  most 
spirits  to  control  the  vibratory  conditions  necessary  to 
appear  to  us,  as  a  knowledge  of  chemical  affinities, 
self  control  by  the  spirit,  development  of  will  power, 
etc.,  are  necessary  to  the  accomplishment  of  this  beau¬ 
tiful  manifestation  of  spirits.  The  elements  of  vitality 
and  magnetic  auras  drawn  from  the  medium  and  the 
sitters  are  necessary  in  the  chemical  processes  to  the 
lowering  of  the  rate  of  vibration.  This  is  why  a  me¬ 
dium  and  a  circle  is  needed  in  the  production  of  spirit 
materialization.  The  foregoing  is  a  brief  explanation 
of  how  spirits  materialize  as  it  has  been  given  to  the 
author  by  his  spirit  teachers,  and  so  far  as  he  is  aware, 
was  never  published  before. 

Brief  as  this  explanation  appears,  the  author  trusts 
it  may  assist  in  starting  a  new  vibration  of  thought  in 
scientific  minds  and  aid  in  making  more  clear  the  sim¬ 
ple,  natural,  and  scientific  processes  of  spirit  material¬ 
ization. 

The  conditions  required  for  the  production  of  spirit 
materialization  are  so  subtle  that  failures  often  occur 
with  the  best  developed  mediums,  and  sometimes  when 
the  seance  is  composed  of  the  best  and  most  spiritual 
people. 

Therefore,  it  is  plain  to  be  seen  that  one  may  as 
well  look  for  June  weather  in  an  iceberg  as  to  expect 
genuine  spirit  materialization  in  an  Opera  House ; 
and  for  the  same  reason,  namely:  the  impossibility  of 
getting  the  necessary  conditions  from  the  surrounding 
elements  furnished. 

Clairvoyance  and  Clairsentience. 

Clairvoyance,  or  clear-seeing,  as  Webster  defines  it, 
is  the  discerning  of  objects  not  visible  through  the 


e 


62 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSHIP — 


physical  sight.  It  is  a  natural  faculty  belonging  to  the 
spirit  of  man,  and  may  be  correctly  denominated  spir¬ 
itual  seeing. 

There  are  two  phases  of  clairvoyance ;  namely,  ob¬ 
jective  and  subjective. 

Objective  clairvoyance  may  be  denominated  the 
spiritual  X-ray,  as  through  its  use  the  possessor  may 
see  things  that  are  invisible  to  the  physical  eyes,  such 
as  spirit  forms,  things  in  the  physical  world  not  pres¬ 
ent  with  the  medium,  diseased  physical  conditions  of  a 
patient,  etc. 

Subjective  Clairvoyance  is  produced  by  the  mental 
impressions  of  the  spirit-operator  acting  upon  the 
brain  of  the  medium.  It  is  closely  related  to  telepathy 
or  thought-transference  between  spirits  of  the  so- 
called  “dead”  and  those  in  the  mortal  form. 

Clairsentience  is  the  sensing  the  presence  of  disem¬ 
bodied  spirits;  the  physical,  mental,  moral,  or  other 
condition  of  persons  in  this  life.  It  is  the  same  as  con¬ 
scious  personation.  The  medium  feels  the  physical 
condition  of  a  sick  person  or  the  mental  condition  of 
one  in  trouble,  etc. 

While  sitting  for  development  one  should  tell  what 
he  sees  or  feels,  be  it  ever  so  little,  for  in  doing  so  it 
often  opens  the  way  for  more. 

The  medium’s  mind  at  times  may  be  so  active  as  to 
interfere  with  a  mental  impression  or  subjective  vision 
and  cause  the  manifestation  to  become  defective  and 
lose  its  value.  This  may  occur  without  the  medium’s 
knowledge.  He  may  not  be  able  to  tell  when  the  spirit 
impression  ceases  and  his  own  mind  begins  to  act. 
This  is  a  common  occurrence  with  an  undeveloped  me- 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


63 


dium,  and  no  one  is  to  blame  for  it.  The  better  de- 
elopment  a  medium  has,  the  less  likely  this  is  to  occur. 
A  well  developed  medium  knows  absolutely  that  his 
vision  is  correct  when  it  is  strongly  impressed  upon 
him. 

The  failure  to  distinguish  between  the  mental  im¬ 
pression  of  the  spirit  and  the  action  of  the  medium’s 
own  mind  has  been  a  fruitful  source  of  erroneous 
messages  and  leading  to  the  belief  in  “evil  spirits,” 
obsession,”  etc. 

One  should  never  look  for  infallibility  in  any  phase 
of  mediumship,  but  should  receive  all  messages  and 
phenomena  with  an  open  mind  and  a  full  realization 
that  they  should  be  proven  correct  before  being  ac¬ 
cepted  as  infallibly  true,  just  as  the  testimony  and 
manifestations  of  men  in  the  flesh  is  received.  If  mis¬ 
takes  occur  in  spirit  manifestations,  blame  not  the  me¬ 
dium,  the  spirits,  nor  the  sitters.  The  blame  usually 
lies  in  the  misunderstanding  of  the  laws  governing 
these  subtle,  psychic,  and  spiritual  forces. 

Clairaudience. 

Clairaudience  is  another  of  the  spiritual  senses.  A 
medium  possessing  this  beautiful  spiritual  faculty 
hears  sounds  not  audible  through  the  physical  ear. 

There  are  vibrations  of  light  that  are  too  rapid  to  be 
seen  through  the  physical  eye;  and  there  are  vibrations 
of  sound  too  rapid  to  be  caught  by  the  physical  ear 
through  the  medium  of  the  tympanum.  These  latter 
vibrations  may  be  conveyed  to  the  consciousness  of 
the  medium  in  two  or  more  different  ways ;  one  is 
called  Objective  Clairaudience,  the  other  Subjective 
Clairaudience,  and  both  are  very  closely  related  to 
Telepathy.  A  medium  may  receive  the  first  few  words 


64 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSHIP — 


of  a  message  through  Objective  Clairaudience  and  the 
communication  may  continue  to  be  received  through 
Subjective  Clairaudience,  and  end  in  Telepathy  or 
Mental  Impressions. 

Objective  Clairaudience  is  the  hearing  of  spirit 
voices  without  the  tympanum  of  the  physical  ear  being 
vibrated,  though  the  auditory  nerve  seems  to  respond 
to  the  spirit  voice  as  the  sound  is  conveyed  to  the  con¬ 
sciousness  of  the  medium.  The  great  nerve  tension 
under  which  the  medium  is  placed  enables  his  auditory 
nerve  to  receive,  from  within,  the  rapid  vibrations  of 
the  spirit  voices,  and  the  message  is  conveyed  to  his 
consciousness.  Nothing  more  is  known  of  the  process 
by  which  the  message  is  received,  than  is  known  of  the 
process  of  receiving  sounds  of  human  voices  in  the 
material  world. 

Subjective  Clairaudience  is  the  process  used  in 
reaching  the  medium’s  consciousness  by  the  spirit 
operator’s  subjecting  the  mind  to  the  impression  of 
sound.  Real  sound  vibrations  may  not  occur,  but  that 
which  seems  like  it  is  impressed  upon  the  medium’s 
consciousness,  in  a  similar  way  to  that  in  which  words 
and  sentences  are  impressed  upon  the  consciousness 
of  one  when  reading  to  himself,  without  giving  utter¬ 
ance  to  the  words  he  is  reading.  Objective  Clairaudi¬ 
ence,  Subjective  Clairaudience,  and  mental  impres¬ 
sions  are  so  closely  related  to  each  other  that  a  me¬ 
dium  may  at  times  be  unable  to  distinguish  between 
them,  or  to  understand  where  one  leaves  off  and  the 
other  begins.  This  is  true  of  several  other  phases  of 
mediumship,  as  may  be  seen  by  reading  carefully  the 
articles  on  various  phases  of  mediumship,  and  notably 
the  subjects  on  Materialization,  Etherialization,  Trans¬ 
figuration,  and  Personation ;  also  those  on  Inspiration, 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


65 


Conscious  Trance,  Semi-Conscious  Trance  and  Un¬ 
conscious  Trance. 

In  the  manifestation  of  Clairaudience,  the  auditory 
nerve  is  vibrated  and  responds  to  the  thought  and  will 
of  the  spirit,  the  same  as  other  nerves  are  made  to 
vibrate  in  response  to  a  thought,  inward  emotion,  or 
action  of  the  mind  or  will  of  one’s  own  spirit. 

Impressional  Mediumship. 

This  kind  of  mediumship  is  probably  the  most  com¬ 
mon  of  any  of  the  phases.  It  is  more  easily  developed 
in  many  persons  than  are  the  other  phases.  In  fact, 
most  people  develop  it  in  some  degree,  without  realiz¬ 
ing  it.  It  is  a  fine  phase  of  Mediumship,  and  the  more 
we  know  of  it,  and  the  more  we  learn  to  practice  it, 
and  to  rely  on  it,  the  more  beautiful  and  better  it  will 
become  developed. 

Many  of  our  public  mediums  possess  this  power  and 
use  it  in  connection  with  other  phases  in  the  practice 
of  their  mediumship.  Impressional  mediumship  and 
Subjective  Clairvoyance  are  so  nearly  alike  that  it  is 
doubtful  if  a  line  can  be  logically  drawn  between  them. 
A  medium  sees  a  house  and  describes  it;  then  he  sees 
it  on  fire ;  then  he  says  it  is  burned  down  and  there 
is  nothing  left  but  the  walls  of  the  cellar.  The  me¬ 
dium  says  to  the  sitters,  “This  was  your  childhood 
home,  and  it  burned  thirty  years  ago.”  The  test  is  rec¬ 
ognized  and  verified. 

Now  let  us  analyze  this  test.  The  medium  saw  the 
house,  describing  it,  and  yet  this  house  had  not  been  in 
existence  for  thirty  years.  How  did  he  see  it?  The 
controlling  spirit  evidently  remembered  how  the  house 
looked,  and  impressed  upon  the  medium’s  mind  the 
mental  picture  of  the  house  as  he  remembered  its 


66 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSHIP — 


looks.  He  caused  the  medium  to  see  the  house,  first, 
as  it  was  before  the  fire;  second,  when  it  was  all 
ablaze ;  third,  the  ruins,  when  nothing  but  the  base¬ 
ment  walls  remained.  This  experience  may  be  called 
Impressional  mediumship,  or  it  may  be  called  Sub¬ 
jective  Clairvoyance. 

One  may  develop  Impressional  mediumship  by  pre¬ 
paring  himself  the  same  as  for  the  development  of 
other  phases,  sitting  by  himself  at  regular  stated  times 
and  by  taking  notice  of  his  first  impressions  regarding 
persons  and  things  that  he  comes  in  contact  with.  As 
soon  as  one  seeks  to  develop  this,  or  any  other  phase 
of  mediumship,  and  makes  the  necessary  conditions 
therefor,  he  will  attract  spirits  who  will  gladly  help 
him.  With  perseverance,  aspiration  for  the  good  and 
true,  there  are  but  few  persons  who  cannot  develop  it 
in  some  degree. 

Automatic,  Inspirational,  Independent  and 
Impressional  Writing. 

Automatic  Writing  may  be  classed  with  the  physical 
phenomena  of  Spiritualism.  The  medium’s  hand  is 
moved  automatically,  or  independent  of  his  will.  The 
spirit  controls  the  medium’s  hand  and  writes  intelli¬ 
gent  messages,  while  the  medium  is  not  conscious  of 
what  is  being  written.  He  is  able  to  converse  on  gen¬ 
eral  topics,  or  on  questions  entirely  foreign  to  the 
writing,  while  the  hand  holds  close  to  the  subject 
under  consideration  by  the  spirit  controlling. 

Inspirational  Writing  is  different  from  Automatic 
Writing  in  the  fact  that  the  medium  is  conscious  of 
what  is  being  written.  Every  thought  written  passes 
through  the  medium’s  brain  before  it  is  jotted  down. 
The  conscious  inspiration  extends  from  the  brain  to 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


67 


the  finger  tips.  The  Inspiration  often  flows  faster 
than  the  hand  can  be  made  to  write  the  thoughts  given, 
and  thus  the  work  is  retarded,  and  the  effort  to  get 
the  intelligent  communication  sometimes  proves  fruit¬ 
less.  However,  if  the  sittings  are  continued  at  proper 
intervals,  and  good  conditions  are  made,  the  rate  of 
speed  will  soon  become  regulated  to  a  normal,  though 
perhaps  quite  rapid  rate,  and  fine  results  will  be  ob¬ 
tained. 

Impressional  Writing  is  like  Inspirational  Writing 
in  the  fact  that  the  thought  to  be  written  is  impressed 
upon  the  medium’s  mind,  though  it  differs  from  it  in 
this  feature — the  medium  is  not  inspired  or  impelled 
to  write  his  impressions.  But  he  may  do  so  by  his  own 
volition,  or  he  may  not.  He  is  left  to  do  as  he  pleases 
about  it. 

Strange  Writings. 

We  have  known  several  mediums  who  have  written 
strange  looking  writing,  such  as  symbols,  hierogly¬ 
phics,  or  what  one  lady  called  “hooks  and  eyes.”  This 
strange  writing  usually  purports  to  be  of  ancient 
origin  and  produced  by  ancient  spirits.  The  medium 
is  seldom  able  to  interpret  this  writing,  though  oc¬ 
casionally  one  is  developed  for  the  phase  of  interpreta¬ 
tion  of  tongues  and  of  ancient  writing. 

Mediums  for  the  phase  of  symbol  or  ancient  writ¬ 
ing  often  complain  because  they  do  not  develop  some¬ 
thing  better  or  more  comprehensive ;  but  those  that  we 
have  met  have  devoted  very  little  time  to  their  devel¬ 
opment,  and  have  employed  no  systematic  methods  in 
their  sittings,  but  have  held  them  haphazard.  The  de¬ 
velopment  of  good  mediumship  requires  time,  devo¬ 
tion  to  the  work,  and  systematic  methods. 


08 


SPIRIT  MEDIUM  SHIP — 


By  the  use  of  proper  methods  this  phase  of  medium- 
ship  may  be  developed  into  other  and  more  desirable 
manifestations.  The  ancient  spirit  having  gained  con¬ 
trol  may  through  his  power,  with  practice,  prepare  the 
medium  for  some  English  speaking  spirit  who  may 
write  in  our  language,  and  other  phases  such  as  trance 
speaking,  etc.,  may  follow. 

Independent  Slate  Writing,  or  Writing  Between 
Closed  Slates. 

This  is  one  of  the  most  convincing  phases.  It  be¬ 
longs  to  the  physical  phases  of  mediumship,  though  it 
may  be  classed  as  of  both  the  mental  and  physical,  as 
the  movement  of  the  pencil  within  the  slates  is  purely 
a  physical  manifestation,  and  the  intelligent  communi¬ 
cation  is  certainly  the  product  of  mind. 

In  the  production  of  these  phenomena  ordinary 
school  slates  are  usually  used.  Sometimes  they  are 
hinged  together  and  sometimes  not.  A  piece  of  slate 
pencil  small  enough  to  roll  around  freely  is  placed  be¬ 
tween  the  closed  slates,  and  the  spirits  use  it  to  write 
messages  on  the  inside  of  them. 

We  have  received  many  beautiful  and  convincing 
messages  through  this  phase  of  spirit  manifestation. 
With  Charles  E.  Watkins,  Pere  Keeler,  and  others  of 
their  class,  the  writing  is  usually  done  between  the 
slates  while  the  medium,  the  investigator,  and  some¬ 
times  the  members  of  the  circle  are  holding  the  slates 
closed  together  in  plain  sight. 

Spirits  are  often  identified  by  the  handwriting  that 
appears  upon  the  slates.  This,  together  with  the  fact 
that  under  the  circumstances  no  human  hand  could 
have  written  the  messages,  and  the  further  proof  that 
often  lies  in  the  facts  stated  in  the  messages  them¬ 
selves  makes  the  test  complete. 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


69 


Slate  writing  mediumship  is  easily  developed  in 
those  physical  mediums  whose  organisms  are  adapted 
to  it.  The  way  to  learn  if  one  can  develop  this  phase, 
is  by  sitting  expressly  for  it  at  regular  times,  say  once 
or  twice  a  week.  One  may  learn  whether  he  is  capa¬ 
ble  of  development  for  it,  as  he  becomes  familiar  with 
the  manner  in  which  he  is  exercised,  and  by  the  spirit 
advice  he  receives  in  the  matter. 

Fire  Mediums. 

A  fire  medium  is  one  whose  powers  are  such  that  he 
may  handle  fire,  or  heated  articles  that  would  burn 
other  people,  without  his  being  burned.  If  one  pos¬ 
sesses  this  phase  of  mediumship,  when  under  the  in¬ 
fluence  of  certain  spirits,  his  flesh  becomes  impervious 
to  fire,  and  the  cuticle  is  not  injured  by  contact  with  it. 

Mrs.  Isa  Wilson  Kayner  (who  is  the  daughter  of 
the  well  known  spiritualist  lecturer  and  platform  test 
medium,  E.  V.  Wilson,  deceased),  possesses  this  phase 
of  mediumship  in  a  large  degree.  The  author  saw  her 
take  several  large  kerosene  lamps,  and  turn  the  blaze 
as  high  as  possible  without  causing  the  lamp  chimney 
to  become  smoked,  allowing  the  lamps  to  burn  until 
the  chimneys  were  very  hot,  then  taking  them  off  the 
lamp  with  her  bare  hands,  handling  them  as  though 
there  was  no  heat  in  them.  She  put  them  on  her  bare 
arms  and  on  her  neck  and  face.  A  doctor  who  was 
one  of  the  committee  appointed  by  the  audience,  to 
see  that  everything  was  done  honestly  and  in  good 
faith,  was  very  skeptical,  and  said  he  believed  he  could 
handle  them  as  well  as  she  could.  She  politely  handed 
him  one  and  he  let  it  fall  very  soon  after  it  touched 
his  hands,  and  of  course  ruined  the  lamp  globe. 

Mrs.  Kayner  then  rolled  the  hot  globes  around  on 


70 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSHIP- 


her  arms  and  face,  and  offered  the  doctor  another  one 
of  them,  but  he  fell  back  out  of  reach,  evidently  hav¬ 
ing  received  all  he  cared  for  of  that  sort  of  experience. 
Mrs.  Kayner  then  took  a  celluloid  collar  and  a  pair  of 
cuffs  and  drew  them  backward  and  forward  through 
the  full  blaze  of  one  of  those  lamps;  and  though  they 
were  very  inflammable,  they  did  not  burn.  She  did 
the  same  thing  with  a  twenty-dollar  bill,  and  also  with 
the  lace  on  her  sleeves.  She  placed  her  own  hand  in 
the  blaze,  drawing  it  back  and  forth  through  the  fire. 
She  took  the  author’s  hand,  made  a  few  passes  over  it, 
stroking  it  and  talking  to  it  in  some  kind  of  language, 
tongue,  or  jargon,  as  she  had  been  doing  to  the  lamp 
globes,  the  celluloid  collars,  etc.  (This  strange  talk  was 
supposed  to  come  from  the  spirit  of  some  ancient  fire 
worshiper).  After  a  little  she  drew  his  hand  slowly 
back  and  forth  through  the  blaze  of  the  lamp,  perhaps 
a  dozen  or  more  times,  and  it  did  not  even  feel  warm, 
nor  did  it  burn  or  singe  a  single  hair  on  his  hand.  He 
did  not  feel  the  effect  of  the  blaze  in  the  least. 

To  close  this  seance  after  about  forty-five  minutes 
of  playing  with  fire,  Mrs.  Kayner  took  one  of  those 
large  lamps  with  the  blaze  turned  up  in  full,  placed 
the  chimney  against  her  face  and  with  a  scientist  walk¬ 
ing  backward  in  front  of  her,  and  an  M.  D.  walking 
beside  her,  where  they  both  could  watch  the  lamp 
and  Mrs.  Kayner’s  face,  they  marched  down  the  aisle 
to  the  farther  end  of  the  hall.  There  they  turned  and 
passed  across  it,  then  turned  back  on  the  other  side, 
turning  again,  passed  in  front  of  the  rostrum,  and  came 
upon  the  platform  to  the  starting  point.  There  she  re¬ 
moved  the  lamp  from  her  cheek.  The  scientist,  the 
doctor,  and  others  of  the  committee  examined  Mrs. 
Kayner’s  face,  and  reported  that  there  was  no  evi- 


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71 


dence  that  heat  had  been  in  connection  with  it.  One 
of  the  committee  held  a  watch  and  declared  that  the 
lamp  chimney  was  pressed  to  the  medium’s  face  just 
two  minutes  and  five  seconds. 

Among  the  mediums  for  this  phase  of  modern  me- 
diumship  may  be  mentioned  Daniel  D.  Home,  who  was 
the  means  of  converting  many  scientists  and  other 
leading  men  of  the  world,  including  members  of  the 
Royal  families  of  different  countries,  whose  recorded 
testimony  of  the  manifestations  occurring  at  his  fire 
seances,  are  an  astonishing  revelation  to  novices  in 
Spiritualism. 

Our  Christian  friends  may  smile  on  reading  the 
foregoing  account,  and  term  our  belief  “childish 
credulity” ;  but,  on  reflection,  they  may  recall  the  fact 
that  they  believe,  or  have  promised  to  believe,  and 
now  profess  to  believe,  in  the  infallibility  of  the 
Christian  bible,  and  that  all  who  do  not  believe  it, 
will  be  lost  forever.  The  bible  tells  of  the  great 
exploits  of  its  fire  mediums,  such  as  bringing  fire 
down  from  heaven  to  destroy  lives,  cities,  etc.  Modern 
phenomena  do  not  compare  with  these  phenomena  of 
the  “infallible  records.” 

Moses  a  Fire  Medium. 

See  Numbers  XVI,  Chap.,  15-17-21-25  verses.  The 
35th  verse  says:  “And  there  came  out  a  fire  from  the 
Lord  and  consumed  the  two  hundred  and  fifty  men 
that  offered  incense.”  48th  verse  says:  “And 
he  (Moses)  stood  between  the  dead  and  the  living; 
and  the  plague  was  stayed.”  (Read  whole  chapter.) 

The  Prophet  Elijah  a  Fire  Medium. 

1st  Kings  XVIII  Chap.,  30th  to  40th  verse.  In  the 
37th  verse  he  prays  and  in  38th  verse  God  answers  his 


72 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSHIP- 


prayer  as  follows :  “Then  the  fire  of  the  Lord  fell  and 
consumed  the  burnt  sacrifice,  and  the  wood,  and  the 
stones,  and  the  dust,  and  licked  up  the  water  that  was 
in  the  trench.” 

Elijah  was  also  a  water  medium  for  he  made  it  rain 
soon  after  this,  even  after  years  of  drouth.  (See  1st 
Kings,  XVIII  Chap.,  41st  to  46th  verses.)  This 
whole  chapter  is  laden  with  stories  of  the  wonders,  the 
marvels,  etc.,  produced  by  this  supposedly  greatest  fire 
medium  that  ever  lived. 

He  finally  closed  his  very  remarkable  career  upon 
earth  with  a  fine  fire  seance,  in  which  his  God  sent  a 
chariot  of  fire  and  horses  of  fire  and  carried  him  in  this 
warm  weather  turnout  to  Heaven,  which  is  a  flat  con¬ 
tradiction  to  scripture  uttered  by  Paul  and  other  scrip¬ 
ture  writers,  Paul  says:  “Flesh  and  blood  cannot  in¬ 
herit  the  Kingdom  of  God.”  (Cor.  XV-50.) 

Elijah’s  Last  Seance. 

2nd  Kings,  2nd  Chapter,  11th  verse,  says:  “And  it 
came  to  pass,  as  they  still  went  on  and  talked,  that  be¬ 
hold,  there  appeared  a  chariot  of  fire,  and  horses  of 
fire  and  parted  them  asunder,  and  Elijah  went  up  by  a 
whirlwind  into  Heaven.”  Does  a  belief  in  this  scrip¬ 
ture  record  constitute  “Childish  credulity”? 

This  whole  chapter  is  full  of  the  marvels  of  this 
medium’s  powers  and  acts. 

Fire  Fails  to  Burn  This  Bible  Trio. 

In  the  book  of  Daniel,  Chap.  Ill,  we  read  that  King 
Nebuchadnezzar  made  an  image  of  gold,  and  ordered 
the  rulers  under  him  to  be  present  at  its  dedication, 
and  to  fall  down  and  worship  it.  They  were  to  be 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


73 


burned  for  failure  to  comply  with  this  command. 
Three  Jews,  Shadrach,  Meshack,  and  Abed-Nego,  re¬ 
fused  and  were  cast  in  the  fiery  furnace,  which  was 
greatly  heated  for  the  occasion.  An  angel  or  spirit 
appeared  in  the  fire  with  them,  and  they  came  out  of 
the  fire  unharmed. 

The  27th  verse  says :  “And  the  princes,  governors 
and  captains,  and  the  king’s  counsellors,  being  gath¬ 
ered  together,  saw  these  men,  upon  whose  bodies  the 
fire  had  no  power ;  nor  was  an  hair  of  their  head 
singed,  neither  were  their  coats  changed  nor  the 
smell  of  fire  passed  on  them.” 

There  are  many  other  passages  of  scripture  regard¬ 
ing  its  spirit  phenomena,  that,  to  be  believed,  re¬ 
quires  much  greater  credulity  than  anything  believed 
by  Spiritualists. 

Inspiration,  Conscious  Trance,  Semi-Conscious 
Trance,  and  Unconscious  Trance. 

There  is  no  more  danger  in  entering  the  unconscious 
trance  state  than  in  entering  an  unconscious  sleep  as 
we  all  do  on  retiring  at  night.  It  is  a  state  of  deep 
sleep  and  is  closely  related  to  Somnambulism.  The 
medium’s  reasoning  faculties  are  apparently  dormant. 
(See  article  on  Somnambulism,  page  80.) 

Inspiration. — When  a  medium  is  speaking  under  in¬ 
spiration  the  spirit  impresses  him  with  the  general 
facts  in  relation  to  the  subject  in  consideration,  and 
the  words  are  sometimes  given  him  to  use.  At  times 
several  words  having  the  same  meaning  are  suggested 
from  which  the  medium  may  select  the  one  he  chooses 
to  use.  In  each  case  the  medium  sees,  feels,  and  un¬ 
derstands  much  more  than  mere  words  can  be  made  to 
express.  O,  the  beauty  of  inspiration!  To  be  once 


74 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSHIP — 


truly  inspired  by  a  spirit  to  see,  hear,  feel  and  under¬ 
stand  fully  and  to  express  even  feebly  that  which  one 
realizes  while  under  the  inspiring  influence  of  a  spirit, 
is  a  joy  beyond  expression. 

Conscious  Trance. — With  this  phase  of  mediumship 
the  medium  is  conscious  of  all  that  transpires  around 
him,  though  his  will  is  inactive.  His  words,  voice,  and 
physical  movements  are  controlled  by  the  spirit-hypno¬ 
tist,  and  the  medium  obeys  his  will  in  everything  so 
long  as  nothing  shocks  him.  But  if  the  control  should 
attempt  to  lead  the  medium  wrong — something  we  have 
never  experienced — he  would  fail.  The  very  thought 
of  it  would  bring  the  medium  to  himself  at  once,  and 
the  control  would  be  thrown  off.  Our  experience 
teaches  us  that  the  desire  of  the  spirits  is  not  to  do 
wrong,  or  to  cause  the  medium  to  do  wrong,  but  al¬ 
ways  to  do  right  and  to  help  and  bless  the  world  by 
their  heavenly  ministrations. 

Semi-Conscious  Trance. — This  is  a  condition  in 
which  the  medium  is  under  a  little  deeper  control  and 
occupies  a  sort  of  dreamy  consciousness  of  what  is 
transpiring,  and  after  regaining  consciousness  remem¬ 
bers  but  little  of  what  has  transpired.  It  all  seems 
like  a  dream  to  him. 

Unconscious  Trance. — This  is  a  still  deeper  trance 
condition,  the  spirit  holding  control  over  the  entire 
physical  as  well  as  the  mental  faculties  of  the  medium, 
and  directing  their  action.  When  the  medium  returns 
to  his  normal  consciousness,  he  remembers  nothing  of 
what  has  transpired  while  he  was  in  the  magnetic 
sleep.  He  is  not  fatigued  but  usually  feels  rested  as 
from  a  restful  night’s  sleep. 

Conscious  Trance,  Inspiration,  or  Impressional  me¬ 
diumship,  are  preferable  to  Unconscious  Trance  be- 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


75 


cause  with  these  phases  the  medium  is  in  a  condition 
to  receive  the  benefit  of  the  lectures  or  phenomenal  oc- 
currances,  and  thus  becomes  educated  in  the  facts, 
philosophy  and  other  great  truths  of  Spiritualism  and 
mediumship;  whereas,  if  unconscious,  the  medium  is 
not  benefited  in  this  way,  though  he  may  be  greatly 
benefited  physically,  the  same  as  with  other  phases. 
Mediums  should  let  the  spirits  decide  what  phases  they 
can  best  develop,  though  the  medium’s  wishes  should 
be  considered. 

The  spirits  generate,  and  are  enveloped  in  spiritual 
auras,  which,  together  with  the  magnetic  and  electric 
forces  of  the  medium  and  sitters  constitute  the  battery 
used  to  produce  all  spirit  manifestations. 

In  the  early  stages  of  development  mediums  are 
often  placed  in  an  unconscious  trance.  This  is  prob¬ 
ably  because  the  spirit  can  more  successfully  carry  on 
the  development  of  the  medium  and  get  better  results 
in  the  phenomena  with  the  medium’s  consciousness 
placed  at  one  side.  The  medium’s  understanding  of 
spiritual  things  is  at  first  necessarily  limited,  and  con¬ 
sequently  his  erroneous  ideas  regarding  such  matters 
may  unintentionally  influence  the  communications  and 
cause  misrepresentation  to  occur ;  but  as  the  medium 
gradually  becomes  acquainted  with  the  laws  and 
methods  of  control  and  gains  an  understanding  of  the 
teachings  of  the  spirits,  his  enlightenment  obviates  the 
necessity  of  his  continuing  to  be  unconsciously  en¬ 
tranced,  and  gradually  his  condition  is  changed  to  that 
of  the  conscious  trance.  Most  mediums  outgrow  the 
unconscious  trance  state  in  time  and  become  fully  con¬ 
scious  of  what  transpires  through  their  mediumship, 
though  occassionally  a  medium  continues  to  do  his 
work  in  an  unconscious  state. 


76 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSHIP — 


Spirit  Photography. 

Spirit  Photography  may  be  explained  by  the  facts 
recorded  in  our  article  on  Materialization,  coupled 
with  the  fact  that  the  photographic  lens  is  capable  of 
catching  the  reflection  of  things  that  are  invisible  to 
the  physical  eye.  Dr.  W.  M.  Lockwood,  a  practical 
photographer,  scientist  and  able  writer  on  the  subject 
of  Scientific  Spiritualism,  says  that  spirit  photography 
is  a  scientifically  demonstrated  truth. 

It  is  claimed  that  the  lens  of  the  camera  is  six 
times  stronger  than  the  human  eye,  and  it  is  a  fact  that 
the  sensitized  plate  will  record  that  which  the  eye 
qannpt  discern.  The  author  once  photographed  a 
house  when  the  evening  shades  were  falling.  It  was 
so  dark  that  he  could  not  distinguish  the  outline  of 
the  shingles  on  the  roof.  It  was  impossible  to  tell 
whether  the  roof  was  shingled  or  not.  He  gave  the 
plate  a  long  exposure  and  when  the  negative  was 
developed  it  was  a  fine  one.  The  print  showed  every 
shingle  as  clearly  as  though  it  had  been  taken  in  the 
best  light. 

Since  the  telescope  and  microscope  enable  us  to  see 
things  which  the  physical  eye  cannot  discern,  may 
it  not  be  reasonable  to  suppose  that  it  is  possible  for 
the  lens  of  a  camera  to  reflect,  and  the  sensitized  plate 
to  record,  the  forms  of  our  spirit  friends,  providing 
they  are  about  us,  and  have,  as  Spiritualism  teaches, 
“Spiritual  Bodies”  composed  of  refined,  sublimated 
matter,  or  substance? 

The  truth  of  spirit  photography  has  been  demon¬ 
strated  to  the  satisfaction  of  many  people  including 
some  of  our  great  scientists.  It  is  as  easily  explained 
as  many  of  the  more  common  phenomena  of  every 
day  occurrence. 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


77 


When  we  have  discovered  the  source  of  the  laws 
and  forces  governing  photography,  we  will  be  able  to 
trace  spirit-photography  to  the  causes  producing  it. 
By  the  same  methods  we  shall  be  able  to  discover  the 
cause  of  anything  else  that  transpires.  As  yet,  we 
know  not  how  we  move  a  muscle.  We  cannot  trace 
anything  to  its  final  source. 

We  may  trace  all  phenomena  to  a  certain  point,  but 
there  we  stop  and  can  go  no  farther.  Some  are 
satisfied  to  attribute  the  cause  to  God,  but  know  no 
more  about  the  real  cause  producing  it  than  if  it  were 
attributed  to  Nature,  Chance,  or  some  other  supposed 
cause.  The  cause  of  all  phenomena  is  not  yet  dis¬ 
covered,  notwithstanding  they  are  all  the  time  occur¬ 
ring, — Spirit  phenomena  included.  This  is  demon¬ 
strated,  and  as  certainly  proved  as  is  any  other  fact  in 
nature.  Spirit  photography  is  a  proven  fact  produced 
through  the  operation  of  the  unerring  laws  and  subtle 
forces  of  nature.  Consequently  it  is  a  natural  phe¬ 
nomenon. 

One  of  the  first  and  most  successful  mediums  for 
spirit  photography  was  Mr.  Mumler,  of  Philadelphia, 
Pa.  Some  years  ago  he  was  arrested  as  a  supposed 
fraud,  but  he  proved  by  actual  test  before  the  court 
that  his  spirit  pictures  were  genuine,  and  he  was  dis¬ 
charged  accordingly. 

Impersonation. 

Impersonation  is  one  of  the  phases  of  mediumship 
that  is  not  well  understood.  It  is  often  improperly 
called  Clairvoyance.  Through  this  phase  of  medium- 
ship  disease  is  diagnosed,  the  cause  located,  and  reme¬ 
dies  are  prescribed. 

Under  spirit  influence  the  medium  may  be  controlled 


6 


78 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSHIP — 


to  take  upon  himself  the  physical  and  mental  con¬ 
dition  of  persons  in  the  mortal  form,  thus  diagnosing 
disease,  etc.,  correctly.  Spiritual  Science  teaches  that 
the  invisible  aura,  or  magnetism  of  the  patient,  enters 
the  pores  of  the  skin  and  is  transmitted  to  the 
medium’s  brain,  and  thence  is  diffused  throughout 
the  nervous  system,  causing  him  to  experience  in  great 
or  small  degree  the  condition  of  the  patient.  The 
medium  being  highly  sensitized  by  the  spirit  control¬ 
ling,  easily  comprehends  the  conditions  produced  upon 
his  nervous  system  by  the  influence  of  the  magnetic 
aura,  thus  absorbed  in  the  action  of  these  marvelous 
mediumistic  processes,  and  he  unhesitatingly  describes 
the  physical  ailments,  mental  derangements,  desires, 
hopes,  purposes  and  tendencies  of  the  patient.  A 
medium  may  be  placed  in  an  unconscious  trance  state 
while  the  spirit  describes  these  conditions;  or  he  may 
retain  his  consciousness  and  describe  them  himself. 
That  is  merely  a  question  of  his  mediumistic  develop¬ 
ment. 

Some  mediums  like  Mrs.  J.  H.  R.  Matteson,  of  Buf¬ 
falo,  N.  Y.,  while  entranced,  take  upon  themselves  the 
condition  of  the  patient,  whether  he  is  present  in  the 
room  or  a  thousand  miles  away.  In  such  cases  the 
spirit  places  upon  the  medium  the  physical  condition 
and  prescribes  the  remedies  for  the  cure  of  the  patient. 

This  method  of  diagnosis  is  very  accurate.  The 
medium  in  taking  upon  himself  the  condition  of  the 
patient,  feels  as  the  patient  feels,  and  the  clear  seeing 
of  the  spirit  makes  the  diagnosis  doubly  strong.  In 
coming  in  contact  with  the  patient  his  physical  con¬ 
dition  is  impressed  upon  the  medium,  and  in  the  pro¬ 
cess  it  cannot  impress  something  different ;  it  must 
impress  the  condition  just  as  it  is.  The  medium  like 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


79 


the  mirror  must  reflect  the  image  of  that  placed  before 
it.  The  medium  rarely  makes  a  mistake  in  a  diagnosis 
of  this  character,  though  he  may  unconsciously  come 
in  contact  with  some  other  person  than  the  one  in¬ 
tended  and  make  a  diagnosis  of  their  case  instead. 
Great  care  should  be  taken  not  to  make  this  mistake. 
By  developing  the  use  of  will  power,  a  medium  may 
avoid  taking  on  the  condition  of  his  patient  when  not 
wishing  to  diagnose  his  disease.  And  by  the  same 
power  he  may  throw  it  off  when  he  does  take  on 
such  condition.  Pure  air  in  the  room  is  essential  to 
good  results. 

Impersonating  Spirits. 

Impersonation  is  also  a  very  useful  phase  of  me- 
diumship  in  identifying  spirits  when  manifesting. 
The  medium  for  this  phase  is  controlled  by  the  spirit. 
For  the  time  being  he  is  thoroughly  under  the  hyp¬ 
notic  control  of  the  spirit.  He  feels  what  the  spirit 
feels,  thinks  what  he  thinks,  and  acts  as  he  acts,  often 
passing  through  the  experience  which  caused  the 
spirit’s  transition,  imitating  his  breathing,  repeating 
his  last  words,  in  short,  reenacting  the  death  scene. 
Though  the  medium  himself  may  know  nothing  of 
the  case,  he  may  reproduce  the  scene  of  death  and  per¬ 
sonate  one  dying  of  fever,  cancer,  drowning,  burning, 
or  any  other  condition  that  may  have  caused  the  trans¬ 
ition  of  the  returning  spirit. 

In  our  own  experience  we  have  been  controlled  to 
personate  the  transition  of  many  spirits  taking  upon 
us  the  conditions,  and  reenacting  the  death  scene 
caused  by  many  different  diseases,  accidents,  etc. 
These  impersonations  like  all  other  phases  of  medium- 
ship  are  not  in  the  least  harmful  unless  practiced 


80 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSHIP- 


excessively ;  but  they  are  very  helpful  in  the  unfolding 
of  one’s  mediumistic  powers. 

Impersonating  spirits  serves  two  purposes :  it  iden¬ 
tifies  the  spirit  and  helps  to  develop  the  medium  so  he 
will  be  able  to  understand  what  caused  the  transition 
of  the  spirit  manifesting.  Some  mediums  require  more 
of  this  development  than  others  before  they  are  able 
to  understand  what  caused  the  spirit’s  transition, 
without  first  taking  upon  themselves  the  full  condition, 
or  impersonating  to  the  full  extent  the  spirit’s  con¬ 
dition  when  passing  over.  Impersonating  a  spirit’s 
passing  through  the  death  scene  is  usually  a  certain 
test  of  his  personal  presence  and  identity. 

Somnambulism, — Its  Relation  to  Mediumship. 

Somnambulism  borders  closely  upon  clairvoy¬ 
ance  and  sleep-walkers  are  sometimes  controlled 
by  spirits  while  in  this  strange  condition.  Persons 
while  in  the  unconscious  somnambulistic  state  have 
written  wonderful  essays  and  sermons,  composed 
music,  solved  intricate  problems  in  mathematics,  com¬ 
posed  and  written  poetry  and  other  things  that  were 
beyond  their  ability  when  in  the  normal  state.  This 
may  be  mental  mediumship.  Somnambulism  is  also 
closely  related  to  the  trance  condition.  The  medium 
acts  and  does  things  which  exceed  his  powers  when 
awake ;  and  while  in  a  deep  sleep  acts  with  caution 
and  precision,  often  avoiding  danger,  sometimes  per¬ 
forming  feats  of  climbing,  etc.,  that  he  could  not 
accomplish  in  his  waking  state.  He  is  in  such  cases 
physically  controlled  and  his  movements  directed  by 
some  intelligence,  be  it  his  own  or  another’s.  In  many 
cases  it  is  proven  that  it  is  an  intelligence  beyond  his 
own  in  its  normal  waking  state,  for  he  finds  lost 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


81 


articles,  missing  things  of  which  he  did  not  know  their 
whereabouts. 

It  is  true  that  we  have  various  faculties,  and  that 
some  of  them  may  be  thoroughly  awake  while  others 
lie  dormant.  We  do  things  unconsciously  and  appar¬ 
ently  without  willing  to  do  them.  We  may  raise  our 
spectacles  to  our  forehead,  and  in  a  moment  we  are 
hunting  the  room  over  to  find  them.  They  are  in 
plain  sight  of  others  where  we  placed  them  a  moment 
before,  but  we  have  no  recollection  of  placing  them 
there  and  are  unconscious  of  the  position  they  occupy. 
We  scratch  our  head  because  it  itches ;  if  our  atten¬ 
tion  is  called  to  the  fact  that  we  just  did  so,  we  have 
no  recollection  of  it.  We  lay  things  down  and  when 
wanted  do  not  know  where  we  laid  them,  or  perhaps 
do  not  remember  having  had  them  in  our  possession. 

We  do  many  things  in  our  waking  moments  and  do 
them  unconsciously.  May  it  not  be  as  reasonable  to 
suppose  that  the  same  faculties  may  sometimes  con¬ 
tinue  to  operate  while  we  sleep?  Everything  we  do  is 
not  impressed  upon  our  consciousness.  As  there  is 
an  outer  and  inner  side  to  life,  so  there  must  be  an 
outer  and  inner  side  to  our  consciousness. 

As  before  stated  somnambulists  may  be  subjects  of 
spirit  control.  Somnambulism  at  least  indicates  med- 
iumship  and  until  the  subject  has  been  more  thor¬ 
oughly  investigated  by  competent  Spiritualists,  we  may 
not  be  able  to  answer  definitely  the  question,  “Is  Som¬ 
nambulism  one  of  the  many  phases  of  mediumship  ?’’ 

We  believe  the  National  Spiritualist  Association 
should  institute  a  commission  and  appoint  a  commit¬ 
tee  of  Scientific  Spiritualists  to  investigate  this  meta¬ 
physical  phenomenon  and  all  other  peculiar  mental 


82 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSHIP— 


phenomena  that  may  relate  to  the  different  phases  of 
mediumship. 

Why  leave  these  investigations  to  the  material 
scientist  who  knows  little  or  nothing  about  medium- 
ship  and  the  spiritual  faculties,  when  we  have  many 
Spiritualists  who  are  scientists  and  as  Spiritual  Scien¬ 
tists  are  thoroughly  qualified  to  fill  a  place  on  such  a 
commission?  The  National  Spiritualist  Association 
would  do  a  great  thing  for  the  cause  of  Spiritualism 
and  make  for  itself  a  still  greater  place  in  the  hearts 
and  minds  of  men  if  it  would  appoint  such  a  commis¬ 
sion,  and  give  to  the  world  the  results  of  their  re¬ 
searches. 

Difference  Between  Telepathy  and  Mind  Reading. 

When  two  people  are  holding  telepathic  communi¬ 
cation  with  each  other  both  are  supposed  to  be  con¬ 
scious  of  the  fact.  But  one  person  may  read  the  mind 
of  another  without  his  being  conscious  of  it.  The 
former  is  Telepathy,  the  latter  is  Mind  Reading.  If 
one  sends  you  a  thought  and  you  catch  its  vibration 
and  it  is  impressed  upon  your  mind,  you  have  not  read 
his  mind,  you  have  simply  caught  the  thought  he  sent 
out.  If  you  mentally  come  into  his  sphere  of  aura 
and  there  take  cognizance  of  what  he  is  thinking,  if 
his  thought  is  transferred  to  your  mind  without  his 
intention  or  volition,  then  you  have  read  his  mind 
and  that  is  mind-reading. 

Telepathy  and  Mind  Reading  Explained. 

In  the  investigation  of  this  subject  we  have  proven 
to  our  satisfaction  that  the  possessor  of  this  power 
is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  a  spirit  medium,  and 
that  spirit  assistance  is  given  the  mind  reader. 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


83 


The  human  brain  may  be  likened  unto  a  receiving 
and  sending  instrument  for  wireless  telegraphy.  It 
is  an  instrument  used  in  sending  forth  thoughts  and 
in  receiving  them.  It  is  like  a  musical  instrument,  as 
different  tunes  may  be  played  upon  it,  or  different 
rates  of  vibration  may  act  upon  it.  As  the  musical 
note  produced  upon  the  piano  is  caught  and  repro¬ 
duced  upon  the  string  of  a  violin  keyed  to  the  same 
rate  of  vibration,  so  one  human  brain  may  receive  the 
thought  produced  by  another  brain  of  the  same  rate 
of  vibration.  In  neither  case  can  the  receiving  instru¬ 
ments  avoid  recording  the  manifestation  produced  by 
the  other,  if  within  its  radius.  Such  is  the  law,  and 
it  must  record  itself  upon  the  instrument  that  is  prop¬ 
erly  attuned  to  it. 

Although  telepathy  between  men  in  the  mortal  may 
possibly  be  accomplished  without  the  assistance  of 
spirits  when  conditions  are  right,  yet  we  feel  satisfied 
that  mind-reading  so-called  is  more  often  produced 
through  spirit  assistance.  Wise  spirits  may  read  the 
mind  of  a  person  and  then  transmit  the  thought  to 
another  mind  whose  vibration  is  not  attuned  to  the 
same  rate  as  the  one  producing  the  thought.  This 
may  be  done  by  the  spirit’s  changing  his  own  mental 
vibration  to  accord  with  the  different  rate  of  the  one 
who  produces  the  thought,  and  then  to  that  of  the  one 
receiving  it.  Impressional  mediums  receive  messages 
and  communications  from  spirits  through  this  same 
law.  When  the  brain  of  both  subjects  of  an  experi¬ 
ment  in  mind  reading  are  attuned  to  the  same  wave¬ 
length  and  rate  vibration,  each  one  must  respond  to 
the  other.  They  cannot  help  it. 

A  human  brain  responds  to  any  thought  from  its 
possessor,  and  every  emotion  of  the  soul  or  desire  of 


84 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSHIP — 


the  spirit  may  find  expression  through  this  wonderful 
organ.  It  may  also  respond  to  other’s  thoughts  and 
emotions  that  are  vibrating  in  the  same  key  to  which 
it  is  attuned.  The  emotions  may  be  expressed  through 
the  medium  of  a  musical  instrument.  A  pen  and 
paper  may  be  used  for  the  purpose ;  or  they  may  be 
expressed  through  the  instrumentality  of  the  vocal 
organs,  but  they  must  first  find  their  way  through  the 
brain. 

No  instrument  of  the  mind  or  body,  or  anything 
produced  by  them,  is  able  to  express  perfectly  a  single 
emotion.  All  manifestations  of  mind  are  imperfect 
because  of  the  imperfect  instruments  it  uses ;  there¬ 
fore,  infallibility  in  the  manifestations  of  mental  med- 
iumship  cannot,  must  not  be  expected. 

In  making  experiments  in  telepathy  the  mediums 
should  be  harmonious  and  of  one  mind.  A  perfect 
blending  of  thought  for  the  time  being  is  essential. 
If  good  results  are  not  attained  without,  it  would  be 
well  to  court  the  assistance  of  the  spirit  friends. 
These  same  laws  govern  the  transmission  of  the 
spirit’s  message  to  the  medium.  The  laws  governing 
the  phenomena  of  telepathy  and  mind-reading — to 
some  extent — govern  the  phenomena  of  wireless 
telegraphy.  The  forces  controlling  the  former  are 
seemingly  almost  infinitely  more  subtle  and  refined 
than  those  governing  the  latter. 

Spiritualists  have  taught  and  demonstrated  the  truth 
of  mind-reading  and  telepathic  communication  for 
more  than  sixty  years,  while,  with  a  comparatively 
few  exceptions,  the  scientists  of  the  world  have  scoffed 
at  or  ignored  their  claims  of  the  discovery  of  this 
truth. 

Through  the  persistency  of  the  spirits,  the  mediums 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


85 


and  the  other  Spiritualists  of  the  world,  in  present¬ 
ing  and  demonstrating  these  truths  to  the  public,  the 
scientists  have  at  last  been  led  to  investigate  the  mat¬ 
ter  ;  and  with  the  encouraging  results  that,  by  apply¬ 
ing  the  powers  of  our  mediums  in  the  study  of  experi¬ 
mental  psychology,  many  of  them  have  become  con¬ 
vinced  of  the  truth  of  Modern  Spiritualism  and  have 
proclaimed  it  to  the  world. 

Dear  Mediums,  you  have  reason  to  feel  grateful 
and  to  congratulate  yourselves  and  to  rejoice  with  all 
other  Spiritualists,  for  to  you  belongs  the  credit  of 
having  accomplished  this  almost  modern  miracle. 
Without  you  and  your  blessed  mediumship  this  mighty 
work  could  never  have  been  accomplished. 

Psychometry. 

“Psychometry”  is  a  word  that  was  coined  by  Prof. 
J.  R.  Buchanan,  and  signifies  soul  measure.  It  is  a 
name  given  that  power  of  a  medium  to  discern  things, 
read  their  history,  etc.,  through  the  magnetic  forces 
permeating  certain  things. 

The  faculty  to  read  phychometrically  is  quite  com¬ 
mon  among  mediums.  Persons  possessing  this  power 
may  correctly  read  one’s  character  from  a  lock  of 
hair,  the  hand  writing,  photograph,  an  article  of  cloth¬ 
ing,  or  anything  containing  one’s  magnetism.  They  may 
read  from  a  piece  of  mineral  the  story  of  the  rocks, 
describing  ancient  upheavals,  etc.  Rich  mines  have 
been  discovered  through  this  power.  We  think  it  is 
the  generally  accepted  belief  that  the  power  to  psy- 
chrometrize  lies  within  the  medium  alone,  without 
the  aid  of  spirits.  We  can  neither  affirm  nor  deny 
the  truth  of  this  belief,  as  our  experience  has  not 
settled  the  question  with  us.  We  have  been  very  sue- 


86 


SPIRIT  MEDIUM  SHIP - 


cessful  in  giving  readings  from  articles,  photographs, 
handwriting,  snap  of  the  finger,  a  whistle,  sound  of 
the  voice,  etc.  Mrs.  Sprague  has  given  some  wonder¬ 
ful  tests  from  a  piece  of  rock,  precious  stones  and 
metals,  but  we  always  have  spirit  assistance  in  doing 
this  work.  Whenever  we  have  attempted  it  the  spirit 
helpers  came  to  assist  us.  We  do  not  say  that  a  per¬ 
son  may  not  do  it  without  spirit  assistance.  In  fact,  we 
think  it  possible  that  he  may  develop  the  power  him¬ 
self  to  psychometrize,  inasmuch  as  we  believe  he  is  a 
spirit  here  and  now,  and  that  he  is  endowed  with  in¬ 
finite  possibilities.  However,  we  think  that  spirits  are 
active  with  the  medium  whenever  success  is  attained 
in  the  practice  of  this  splendid  “spiritual  gift.” 

Mr.  Hudson  Tuttle  in  his  book,  “Mediumship  and 
Its  Laws,”  well  says:  “It  is  true  that  no  one  can 
be  sufficiently  sensitive  to  give  psychometric  readings 
and  not  be  subject  to  spirit  control.” 

Phrenelogy  may  tell  what  should  be  the  results  com¬ 
ing  from  a  certain  combination  of  the  organs  of  the 
mind,  but  Psychometry  tells  what  the  results  are,  what 
the  individual  really  is,  and  without  consulting  the 
organs  at  all.  The  spiritual  forces  which  are  always 
governed  by  law,  penetrate  the  mind,  search  out  the 
feelings,  emotions,  hopes,  fears,  joys  and  sorrows, 
revealing  the  physical,  mental,  moral  and  spiritual 
condition  of  the  subject. 

This  penetrating  power  may  become  of  great  assist¬ 
ance  in  the  selection  of  an  occupation  or  in  overcoming 
undesirable  inherited  or  acquired  tendencies.  It  is  of 
great  assistance  in  the  development  of  grander  and 
more  noble  qualities  of  mind  and  strength  of  charac¬ 
ter.  We  are  certain  that  the  people  of  the  world  would 
grow  rapidly  better  and  wiser  if  psychometry  were 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


87 


freely  practiced  and  the  teachings  of  Modern  Spirit¬ 
ualism  were  applied  in  the  lives  of  men. 

In  the  development  of  mediumship  it  may  be  helpful 
to  experiment  in  this  phase  of  the  work  by  reading  the 
character  of  individuals  from  their  photographs,  hand¬ 
writing,  and  articles  carried  upon  their  persons. 

Dermo  Psychography,  or  Spirit  Writing  Upon  the 
Skin,  Sometimes  Called  Stigma. 

Definitions  by  Webster:  “Stigma — Marks  believed 
to  have  been  supernaturally  impressed  upon  the  bodies 
of  certain  persons  in  imitation  of  the  wounds  on  the 
crucified  body  of  Christ.”  “Dermo — skin.  Psycho¬ 
graphy — spirit  writing.” 

This  phase  of  mediumship  is  very  rare ;  it  furnishes 
proof  of  spirit  presence  and  power.  Names  and  spirit 
messages  have  been  written  upon  the  skin  of  modern 
mediums  in  blood  colored  letters.  The  phenomena  oc¬ 
curred  in  broad  daylight,  in  the  presence  of  witnesses, 
and  gradually  disappeared  before  their  eyes.  The 
writer  has  witnessed  this  phase  of  spirit  writing  when 
the  letters  appearing  were  nearly  one  inch  in  length. 

This  Phase  Rare  in  Bible  Times. 

While  there  are  many  passages  of  scripture  that 
record  the  other  phases  of  mediumship,  including  clair¬ 
voyance,  materialization,  prophecy  and  healing  by  lay¬ 
ing  on  of  hands,  we  find  but  a  single  passage  that  could 
be  construed  to  mean  spirit  writing  on  the  skin.  1st 
Chronicles,  XXVIII  Chap.,  19th  Verse,  says:  “All  this 
said  David,  the  Lord  made  me  understand  in  writing 
by  his  hand  upon  me,  even  all  the  works  of  this  pat¬ 
tern.”  Thus  David  says  the  Lord  gave  him  the  pat¬ 
tern  for  “All  the  Courts  of  the  House  of  the  Lord,” 
all  “treasuries,”  “dedicated  things,”  and  “all  the  ves¬ 
sels,”  by  writing  upon  him.  (11th  to  20th  verses.) 


88 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSHIP — 


Foretelling  Events. 

The  spirit  friends  are  often  in  possession  of  facts 
unknown  to  men  in  this  mortal  sphere.  They  are  capa¬ 
ble  of  obtaining  knowledge  of  future  events  by  rea¬ 
soning  from  cause  to  effect,  thus  foretelling  what  to 
us  may  seem  miraculous,  because  their  conclusions  are 
based  upon  facts  not  known  to  us,  but  well  known  to 
them.  They  have  clearer  perceptions  than  men  on 
earth.  There  is  also  a  higher  law  that  belongs  to  the 
spiritual  realm,  and  spiritual  faculties  are  operative 
under  the  law. 

Intuition. 

Intuition  is  one  of  the  spiritual  faculties.  It  causes 
one  to  know  without  reasoning.  It  manifests  at  times 
through  persons  in  the  flesh,  and  occasionally  in  a  re¬ 
markable  degree.  This  faculty  is  greatly  increased  in 
power  in  some  disembodied  spirits,  and  through  it  they 
know  certain  events  that  are  to  occur  in  the  future. 

Furthermore,  spirits  tell  us  that  they  have  other  fac¬ 
ulties  of  which  we  have  no  possible  conception.  In 
some  spirits  they  are  scarcely  developed  at  all ;  in 
others  but  slightly ;  while  in  others  they  are  more  fully 
unfolded,  and  by  such  highly  developed  spirits  the 
future  is  accurately  and  wonderfully  foretold. 

It  is  utterly  impossible  for  one  whose  spiritual  fac¬ 
ulties  are  not  developed  in  some  degree  to  understand 
this.  To  illustrate:  He  who  is  born  without  the  fac¬ 
ulty  of  hearing  has  not  the  slightest  idea  of  the  mean¬ 
ing  of  music.  He  knows  nothing  of  sound.  He  who 
is  born  without  eyes  knows  absolutely  nothing  of  the 
beauties  this  sense  reveals ;  therefore  it  is  plain  to  be 
seen  that  if  spirits  of  the  higher  life  have  organs,  fac¬ 
ulties,  and  powers  of  which  we  know  nothing,  that 


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89 


there  may  be  given  them  means  of  foreseeing,  fore¬ 
knowing,  and  foretelling  the  future.  All  spirits  have 
not  yet  developed  these  powers.  Many  are  densely 
ignorant  of  them,  but  the  possibility  of  their  unfold- 
ment  is  an  inheritance  of  every  soul. 

Wise  spirits  tell  us  that  they  bring  us  all  we  are  able 
to  comprehend  through  the  faculties  that  we  now  pos¬ 
sess  in  our  present  state  of  development. 

Man  with  his  so-called  five  physical  senses,  in  their 
present  limitations,  gives  promise  of  greater  things  in 
future,  and  his  spiritual  powers  are  constantly  improv¬ 
ing  in  this  life.  They  are  more  largely  developed  in 
the  race  of  today  than  they  were  in  primitive  man,  and 
with  these  new  and  added  faculties  in  spirit  life,  how 
he  must  advance  in  knowledge,  wisdom,  and  power. 
The  thought  is  beautiful  to  contemplate  and  glorious 
in  its  promise. 

Wise  spirits  do  accurately  and  truthfully  foretell 
the  future ;  this  we  know  to  be  true,  and  in  knowing 
this  it  becomes  easy  to  believe  that  highly  developed 
spirits  possess  faculties  through  which  they  are  enabled 
to  foreknow  facts  and  events,  and  map  out  the  future 
as  accurately  as  an  astronomer  may  calculate  and  fore¬ 
know  the  appearance  of  a  comet  or  the  occurrence  of 
an  eclipse. 

Diagnosing  Disease  Clairvoyantly. 

Medical  clairvoyance  has  this  advantage  over  other 
methods  of  diagnosing  disease.  The  clairvoyant  at 
times  can  look  through  a  human  body,  as  though  it 
were  composed  of  glass.  This  is  a  beautiful  yet  nat¬ 
ural  truth,  and  no  more  miraculous  than  the  fact  that 
we  can  look  through  a  brick,  a  piece  of  steel,  or  other 
solid  substance  by  the  aid  of  the  X-ray.  The  clairvoy- 


90 


SPIRIT  M  EDI  U  M  S  H I P - 


ant  often  sees  and  discerns  the  cause  of  the  disease, 
as  well  as  its  action  upon  the  human  system.  It  also 
makes  clear  the  effect  of  medicine  upon  the  system 
while  other  doctors  must  depend  upon  the  outward 
symptoms  for  this  knowledge. 

Healing  mediumship  usually  accompanies  medical 
clairvoyance,  though  not  always.  Mediums  who  do 
not  possess  the  “Gift  of  Healing”  sometimes  are  led  to 
prescribe  herbal  remedies. 

Without  clairvoyance  the  mental  healer  or  the  mag¬ 
netic  healer  is  as  much  in  the  dark  regarding  the  cause 
or  kind  of  disease,  or  of  the  action  of  his  remedies, 
as  is  the  practitioner  of  the  older  schools  of  medicine. 

Magnetic  and  Spiritual  Healing. 

Probably  no  one  lives  entirely  independent  of  the 
influence  of  disembodied  spirits,  though  a  compara¬ 
tively  few  may  realize  their  presence  and  power. 

Telepathy,  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  is  carried  on 
between  man  in  the  mortal  and  man  in  the  spirit. 

All  men,  either  in  the  physical  or  in  the  spirit  world, 
control  their  bodies  by  the  power  of  the  spirits  inhab¬ 
iting  them.  The  spirit  builds  the  body,  heals  its 
wounds,  eliminates  its  diseases  and  impresses  its 
thoughts  upon  it.  Thoughts  are  emanations  of  mind, 
mind  is  a  possession  of  the  spirit.  If  our  spirit  sends 
forth  good  thoughts,  good  is  accomplished.  If  our 
spirit  sends  forth  evil  thoughts,  evil  is  the  result.  Evil 
thoughts  generate  ill  health,  good  thoughts  generate 
good  health. 

The  spirit  possesses  what  is  called  will.  The  proper 
use  of  the  will  is  a  potent  power  in  generating  a 
healthy  vibration.  The  spirit  builds  organs  as  they 
are  needed,  and  when  no  longer  used,  the  gradual 


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91 


shrinking  away  of  the  protoplasmic  deposit  causes 
them  to  become  atrophied.  A  single  thought  may  stop 
the  heart  from  beating  or  paralyze  a  nerve.  A  differ¬ 
ent  thought  may  quicken  the  heart  beats,  bring  a  flush 
to  the  cheek,  or  vitalize  the  nerves.  Illness  is  often 
produced  by  fright.  Health  is  sometimes  restored  by 
joyful  news.  Healthful  magnetism  is  generated  in  the 
physical  organism  by  thinking  good  and  happy 
thoughts. 

Individual  magnetism  is  the  base  of  operations  in 
Magnetic  and  Spiritual  Healing,  as  it  is  in  all  other 
spirit  manifestations.  There  is  healthful  magnetism 
and  diseased  magnetism.  The  former  produces  a  har¬ 
monious  vibration,  the  latter  produces  a  discordant 
vibration ;  or  a  harmonious  vibration  produces  health¬ 
ful  magnetism,  and  a  discordant  vibration  produces 
diseased  magnetism.  The  healing  is  accomplished 
through  the  vitalizing  of  the  magnetic  currents,  equal¬ 
izing  the  circulation  and  creating  a  harmonious  blend¬ 
ing  of  the  mental  and  physical  forces. 

Diseased  magnetism  is  often  generated  by  thinking 
evil  or  unhappy  thoughts.  The  condition  of  one’s 
magnetism  determines  the  state  of  one’s  health.  We 
should  always  strive  to  think  cheerful,  kindly,  good 
and  loving  thoughts,  if  we  would  be  healthy  and  happy. 

Spiritual  Healing. 

Our  spirit  friends  generate  a  spiritual  magnetism  all 
their  own.  Mediums  feel  and  understand  its  power. 
It  is  more  potent  than  the  magnetism  of  men  in  the 
mortal,  because  it  is  more  refined  and  pure. 

The  magnetic  forces  generated  by  spirit  and  mortal 
constitute  the  intermediary  between  spirit  and  matter. 
It  is  used  to  convey  the  message  of  men  and  spirits 
between  the  visible  and  the  invisible  realms,  as  elec- 


92 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSHIP — 


tricity  is  used  in  wireless  telegraphy  to  send  man’s 
message  across  the  mighty  ocean.  It  is  used  to  con¬ 
nect  the  spirit  of  man  in  this  life  with  his  own  body, 
as  it  is  in  every  other  instance  when  matter  is  ani¬ 
mated  with  life. 

Spirit  chemists  through  certain  mediums  may  dis¬ 
cern  the  condition  of  a  patient,  note  a  superfluity  or 
a  lack  of  certain  elements  in  his  body,  and  through  the 
medium’s  forces  may  eliminate  them  or  supply  such 
elements  as  are  needed,  and  instantaneous  healing  is 
accomplished.  Everything  depends  upon  conditions. 
There  should  be  a  harmonious  blending  of  the  forces 
of  the  spirit,  the  medium  and  the  patient.  The  recep¬ 
tivity  of  the  patient  also  has  much  to  do  with  its  suc¬ 
cess.  The  harmonious  mental  condition  of  the  spirit, 
the  medium  and  the  patient  are  also  necessary  to  the 
successful  healing  of  the  patient. 

Where  conditions  are  not  perfect  the  process  of 
healing  is  retarded,  and  in  such  cases  it  often  takes 
time  to  heal  a  patient.  Conditions  permitting,  the  pa¬ 
tient  may  be  healed  instantly.  “Magnetic  and  Spiritual 
Healing”  embodies  what  good  there  is  in  “Faith  Cure,” 
“Prayer  Cure,”  “Mental  Healing,”  “Divine  Healing,” 
and  every  other  legitimate  method  of  mental  and  spir¬ 
itual  healing  known,  including  “Emmanuelism,”  “Sug¬ 
gestive  Theraputies,”  etc.  In  fact  Spiritual  Healing 
was  made  clear  by  Modern  Spiritualism  and  it  is  the 
mother  of  all  the  New  Thought  Methods.  It  teaches 
the  laws  governing  these  forces  and  instructs  us  in 
their  application.  Not  a  single  new  thought  along 
these  lines  of  healing,  so  far  as  we  know,  has  yet  been 
presented  that  is  of  the  least  value  whatever,  that 
was  not  previously  given  to  the  world  by  Modern 
Spiritualism  in  its  philosophy  and  facts  of  Spiritual 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


93 


Science.  It  explains  scientifically  the  so-called  “Mirac¬ 
ulous”  ( ?)  healing  of  the  sick  by  Jesus  and  his  Apos¬ 
tles. 

There  is  virtue  in  most  methods  of  healing,  but  Spir¬ 
itual  healing  stands  preeminent,  and  may  be  used  to 
great  advantage  by  all.  Many  people  are  mediums  for 
this  phase,  and  in  some  it  may  be  easily  developed. 

The  medium  for  Magnetic  and  Spiritual  Healing,  on 
entering  the  sick  room  becomes  charged  with  spiritual 
forces  brought  by  his  spirit-helpers,  and  the  more  re¬ 
ceptive  he  becomes  to  that  power  the  more  successful 
will  be  his  work.  Some  mediums  are  so  receptive  to 
these  spirit  forces  that  it  does  not  become  necessary 
to  lay  hands  on  the  patient;  while  others  may  need  to 
rub  and  make  passes  over  the  patient. 

Through  the  application  of  the  spiritual  forces  sup¬ 
plied  by  the  spirit,  and  the  magnetic  powers  of  the 
medium,  the  circulation  of  the  patient  is  increased 
when  needed  and  the  organs  of  the  body  stimulated 
into  new  activity.  When  the  patient’s  system  is  racked 
with  fever  and  the  blood  rapidly  coursing  through  the 
veins,  the  body  seemingly  on  fire  the  spirit  applies  cool¬ 
ing  forces  through  the  medium  and  the  fever  is  al¬ 
layed,  and  the  pulse  very  soon  restored  to  the  normal 
condition.  We  have  witnessed  these  evidences  of  the 
power  of  magnetic  and  spiritual  healing  many  times. 

The  healer  should  possess  perfect  confidence  in  his 
spirit  helpers,  and  the  more  confidence  the  patient  has 
in  them  and  in  the  healer,  the  better  the  results.  Both 
should  send  out  an  earnest  desire  or  prayer  to  the 
spirit  friends  for  a  perfect  cure.  They  should  be¬ 
come  inspired  with  confidence  and  sincerity,  to  which 
should  be  added  the  determination  of  the  patient  to 
recover  his  health,  and  of  the  healer  to  perform  the 


7 


94 


SPIRIT  MEDIUM  SHIP — 


cure.  They  should  think  only  good  thoughts  and  look 
on  the  bright  side  of  life,  being  always  hopeful  and 
optimistic,  seeing  good  in  everyone  and  everything. 
Pleasant  conversation,  a  little  levity,  vocal,  and  instru¬ 
mental  music  are  helpful  where  the  patient  is  not  too 
low. 

Magnetic  and  Spiritual  Healing  combined  constitute 
the  most  powerful  curative  known.  The  magnetic 
healer  may  impart  his  own  vital  forces  to  the  patient 
or  the  spirit  may  do  the  same  independently ;  or  he 
may  apply  his  spiritual  forces  through  the  medium  and 
thus  heal  the  patient.  Where  the  patient  is  sufficiently 
mediumistic  and  furnishes  the  proper  conditions — 
as  explained  in  another  chapter — the  spirit  may  apply 
these  forces  direct  to  the  mediumistic  patient  and  he 
is  healed.  There  are  many  records  of  such  cases 
among  church  people,  as  well  as  among  Spiritualists, 
but  the  church  calls  them  miracles,  while  Spiritualism 
demonstrates  that  they  are  accomplished  through 
natural  law  by  spirits  acting  through  mediums. 

Absent  Healing,  or  Healing  at  a  Distance. 

People  are  often  healed  by  spirit  power  exercised 
through  mediums  when  the  healer  is  not  present  with 
the  patient.  This  “Gift  of  Healing”  is  not  given  by 
“Special  Providence,”  but  is  developed  through  spirit 
power  and  is  accomplished  by  its  direction  of  the 
forces. 

The  suggestion  of  the  healer  given  by  letter  or 
otherwise,  helps  the  patient  to  place  himself  in  a  con¬ 
dition  to  receive  the  forces  of  the  spirit  healers. 

The  patient  is  instructed  to  become  passive  in  the 
quiet  of  his  room,  and  as  distance  is  nothing  to  spirits, 
they  may  use  the  magnetic  forces  of  the  medium,  to- 


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95 


gether  with  the  patient’s  own  spiritual  forces  to  heal 
him,  in  the  same  manner  as  when  they  are  together. 
This  is  explained  in  the  foregoing  article  on  Magnetic 
and  Spiritual  Healing.  In  rare  cases  the  patient  may 
be  healed,  though  not  conscious  of  the  fact  that  the 
healer  and  his  spirit  friends  are  exercising  their  powers 
for  his  recovery ;  but  the  forces  are  greatly  multiplied 
when  the  patient  is  conscious  of  the  healing  power  and 
enters  into  it  with  confidence  and  determination  to  re¬ 
ceive  help.  Auto-suggestion  plays  a  good  part  in  plac¬ 
ing  the  patient  in  a  receptive  condition  and  is  of  great 
assistance  in  the  process  of  healing. 

Reading  Pellets,  or  Folded  and  Sealed  Questions. 

This  phase  of  mediumship  is  easily  developed  by 
one  who  is  clairvoyant  and  clairaudient,  and  often 
proves  a  very  satisfactory  method  of  testing  the  truth 
of  spirit  communion. 

Some  mediums  have  the  power  developed  so  well 
that  they  are  able  to  read  word  for  word  what  is  writ¬ 
ten  on  a  piece  of  paper  and  rolled  up  into  a  pellet,  and 
after  reading  it,  receiving  the  spirit’s  answer  to  the 
question  written.  Other  mediums  may  not  be  developed 
to  read  what  is  written  in  the  pellet  or  sealed  ques¬ 
tion,  but  may  get  the  answer  through  their  clairaudi- 
ence  or  clairvoyant  powers. 

The  author’s  mediumship  was  developed  for  this 
phase.  In  his  early  development  he  did  much  in  the 
way  of  answering  questions,  folded,  sealed,  or  rolled 
into  pellets,  though  he  was  never  able  to  read  what 
was  written  upon  them.  In  his  book,  “A  Future  Life 
Demonstrated,”  the  author  records  several  of  his  ex¬ 
periences  in  this  phase  of  mediumship,  one  of  which 
he  will  reproduce  here,  as  it  will  help  to  make  clear 


96 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSHIP — 


just  how  this  phase  of  mediumship  occurs,  and  how 
the  work  is  accomplished  by  the  spirit  helpers  of  the 
medium.  The  article  mentioned  follows : 

Spirits  Found  Lost  Spectacles. 

“At  another  one  of  these  meetings,  I  was  led  to  an¬ 
swer  written  questions.  I  think  more  than  thirty  ques¬ 
tions  were  placed  upon  my  forehead,  and  all  were 
answered  satisfactorily  to  those  who  placed  them  there, 
though  I  had  not  seen  them. 

Among  the  questions  answered  that  day  was  one 
written  by  Mr.  Henry  Brown  of  Evans,  N.  Y.  When 
it  was  placed  on  my  forehead  I  became  clairvoyant. 
I  saw  and  described  a  book  case,  and  heard  these 
words,  ‘Behind  that  book  case.’  This  was  repeated. 
I  then  said,  ‘Mr.  Brown,  that  is  all  I  get.  Is  that  the 
answer  to  your  question?’  He  said  he  did  not  know, 
but  would  tell  me  later. 

One  month  later  we  attended  the  meeting  which 
was  held  at  Mr.  Brown’s  home,  when  he  came  to  me 
and  handed  me  a  pair  of  spectacles,  saying,  ‘Here  are 
the  spectacles  you  found  for  me.’  ‘The  spectacles  I 
found  for  you’  said  I.  ‘Yes,’  said  he,  laughing; 
‘last  month  at  the  meeting  held  at  Levi  Brown’s,  I 
placed  a  question  upon  your  head  in  which  I  asked  the 
spirit  friends  what  became  of  my  spectacles,  they  hav¬ 
ing  disappeared  at  a  circle  held  in  my  house  several 
weeks  before.  You  saw  and  described  our  book  case 
and  said,  ‘Behind  that  bookcase.’  When  I  reached 
home  I  pulled  out  the  book  case,  and  there  behind  it 
were  the  spectacles.  The  night  they  were  lost  we  were 
holding  a  circle  at  our  house ;  the  light  was  turned  low. 
I  took  off  my  glasses  and  laid  them  on  the  table,  and 
they  were  gone  when  the  circle  was  over.  I  searched 


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97 


the  house,  but  could  not  find  them.  It  was  a  pleasant 
surprise  as  well  as  an  excellent  test  to  find  them  be¬ 
hind  that  book  case,  where  the  spirit-friends  had  said 
they  were.’  ” 

To  test  one’s  power  in  this  phase  of  mediumship  it 
is  a  good  plan  to  let  the  medium  get  well  under  the  in¬ 
fluence  and  then  tell  him  what  you  wish  to  do ;  then 
putting  the  question  upon  his  forehead,  hold  it  there, 
and  tell  the  medium  to  remain  passive,  and  take  his 
time ;  to  give  out  any  impression  he  gets,  describe  any 
vision  he  may  have,  or  repeat  the  words  he  may  chance 
to  hear;  and  if  what  he  gets  has  nothing  to  do  with 
the  matter  at  all,  do  not  be  discouraged,  but  bear  in 
mind  the  fact  that  all  mediums  for  mental  phenomena 
must  learn  to  distinguish  between  the  action  of  their 
own  minds,  and  the  spirit  impressions.  The  acquir¬ 
ing  of  this  power  plays  an  important  part  in  one’s  de¬ 
velopment. 

The  author  has  made  no  practice  of  this  phase  of 
mediumship  in  many  years,  with  the  exception  that  he 
uses  it  occasionally  in  acquiring  advice  and  informa¬ 
tion  for  members  of  his  immediate  family,  upon  ques¬ 
tions  of  importance,  that  are  not  easily  obtained  in  any 
other  manner.  Neither  does  he  now  give  private  read¬ 
ings  to  anyone.  His  work  consists  in  speaking,  giving 
messages  and  tests  from  the  public  rostrum,  and  in 
writing. 


98 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSHIP — 


CHAPTER  V. 

Fraudulent  Mediums  and  Fortune  Tellers. 

Nearly  everyone  will  admit  that  fraud  has  attached 
itself  to  everything  excepting  (  ?)  politics.  But  no  one 
is  willing  to  give  up  his  good  greenback  dollars,  silver 
or  gold  coin,  because  some  rascals  have  circulated 
counterfeits  of  them. 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  work  to  expose  fraudu¬ 
lent  or  simulated  mediumship,  though  the  author 
would  like  to  clear  the  country  of  all  such  villainous 
pretenders.  The  officers  of  the  National  Spiritualist 
Association,  through  its  twenty  or  more  state  auxil¬ 
iaries,  their  officers  and  members  and  those  of  their 
local  societies,  as  well  as  every  true  independent  Spir¬ 
itualist  in  the  land,  are  all  uncompromisingly  opposed 
to  the  untrue  and  dishonest  work  of  persons  who  have 
tried  to  attach  themselves  to  Spirtualism.  They  are 
doing  all  in  their  power  to  bring  them  to  justice  and 
free  our  cause  from  the  accursed  blight  their  nefarious 
acts  have  brought  upon  it  in  certain  localities. 

The  production  of  fraud  in  the  seance  room  is  not 
mediumship.  There  are  many  vile  impostors,  “Profs.” 
and  “Madams”  who  infest  the  cities,  advertising  them¬ 
selves  as  “the  seventh  daughters  of  the  seventh  sons,” 
“the  great  Mahatmas  of  India”  (the  latter  class  are 
imitators  of  Theosophy,  not  of  Spiritualism),  “great¬ 
est  mediums  and  clairvoyants  on  earth,”  etc.,  promis¬ 
ing  to  do  anything  and  everything  desired,  including 
“reuniting  lost  lovers,”  “selling  charms,”  “bringing 
good  luck,”  “finding  oil  wells”  and  “gold  mines,”  “for 
fifty  cents  and  up,”  sometimes  borrowing  diamonds  to 
“magnetize,”  and  then  leaving  town  between  two  days 
to  enter  other  fields  of  plunder,  where  they  continue 
the  same  old  tricks  under  some  different  name. 


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99 


These  vile  impostors  are  not  Spiritualists,  and  much 
less  mediums.  Their  days  are  numbered.  The  Spirit¬ 
ualists  with  the  help  of  the  police  force  of  the  cities 
are  driving  them  from  their  vile  haunts  while  the 
world  is  gradually  learning  to  distinguish  the  true  from 
the  false,  and  through  this  knowledge  our  cause  is  ad¬ 
vancing  and  taking  its  place  among  the  great  and 
newly  developed  truths  of  this  wonderful  age. 

Fraudulent  Investigators. 

It  is  clear  to  all  thinking  Spiritualists  and  other  well 
informed  persons  that  great  injustice  is  often  done  to 
honest  and  worthy  mediums.  When  would-be  ex¬ 
posers,  or  ignorant  investigators  visit  mediums,  giving 
fictitious  names,  falsifying  and  misrepresenting  facts, 
and  by  their  cunning  trying  to  deceive  and  mislead  the 
medium,  they  usually  succeed  in  exposing  their  own 
gross  ignorance  of  the  subject  they  seek  to  destroy. 
They  ruin  the  conditions  which  might  otherwise  have 
been  good.  Under  the  influence  of  honesty  of  pur¬ 
pose,  confidence  in  the  good,  a  desire  for  the  truth,  on 
the  part  of  the  sitter,  the  results  might  have  been  beau¬ 
tiful  and  satisfying.  The  sitter  is  more  often  the 
cause  of  imperfect  manifestations  than  is  the  medium. 

Oh,  how  dense  the  ignorance  of  some  people  regard¬ 
ing  this  all  important  subject!  and  what  a  great  bar¬ 
rier  to  the  advancement  of  truth,  justice  and  happiness 
is  this  human  arrogance,  bigotry,  injustice  and  ignor¬ 
ance  as  manifested  by  the  learned  and  the  unlearned 
alike ! 

Thankful  appreciation  and  decent  treatment  should 
be  accorded  the  medium  who  submits  the  use  of  his 
brain,  his  nervous  system,  and  his  physical  organ¬ 
ism  entire,  if  need  be,  putting  aside  self-control, 


100 


SPIRIT  M EDIUMSHIP — 


closing  the  door  for  the  time  being  to  his  own  desires 
— yes,  and  sometimes  surrendering  his  own  conscious¬ 
ness  and  placing  himself  physically  and  mentally  in  the 
hands  of  invisible  intelligences.  Such  sitters  may  not 
know  that  the  medium’s  gifts  have  a  higher  purpose 
than  to  please  the  fancy,  or  satisfy  the  curiosity  of  one 
who  is  probably  a  total  stranger  to  him.  He  may  have 
no  particular  interest  in  the  sitter  other  than  that  inter¬ 
est  in  a  common  humanity  which  every  person  should 
have  for  the  welfare  of  his  kind. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  seance  the  medium  does  not 
know  who  will  control  him.  If  it  should  be  one  who 
had  committed  some  great  crime — a  suicide,  for  in¬ 
stance — the  medium  may  be  controlled  to  personate, 
taking  on  the  condition  of  the  spirit,  feeling  all  the  re¬ 
morse  of  conscience,  shedding  bitter  tears  of  regret, 
begging  for  forgiveness  for  the  wrongs  he  had  done 
while  in  earth  life,  and  otherwise  humiliating  the  me¬ 
dium.  This  is  sometimes  the  case  and  is  a  very  un¬ 
pleasant  part  of  a  medium’s  experience ;  but  it  is  made 
doubly  so  by  the  egotist  who  publishes  to  the  world— 
ignorantly  or  otherwise — statements  that  reflect  upon 
the  mental  ability  or  moral  character  of  the  medium. 
They  are  as  unscientific  as  they  are  unjust  and  untruth¬ 
ful.  We  make  no  reference  here  to  that  class  of  frauds 
who  simulate  mediumship. 

Investigators  may  accuse  the  medium  of  fraud,  as  is 
often  the  case,  or  they  may  attempt  an  explanation  of 
the  phenomena  by  attributing  them  to  “hypnotism,” 
“unconscious  cerebration,”  “odic  force,”  “mental  tel¬ 
epathy,”  “subconscious  mind,”  or  some  other  “scien¬ 
tific  (  ?)  explanation”  that  explains  nothing  only  that 
each  one’s  theory  contradicts  nearly  every  other  one’s 
explanation  of  the  facts.  They  may  mislead  those  who 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


101 


are  ignorant  of  the  real  occurrences  in  these  seances, 
as  many  persons  are  quite  likely  to  accept  the  theories 
of  would-be  great  men.  Of  course  the  poor  medium  is 
classed  as  a  fraud  by  these  honest  people  who  are 
ignorant  of  the  subject,  because  they  did  not  know 
what  produced  the  phenomena  until  the  scientist,  or 
theologian  assumed  to  discover  it.  They  unwittingly 
class  him  as  a  vile  imposter,  an  unmitigated  scoundrel 
practicing  fraud  of  the  most  heinous  type.  All  this 
and  much  more  the  medium  is  made  to  suffer  at  the 
hands  of  these  fraudulent  sitters  who  themselves  de¬ 
fraud  the  public  by  their  false  assumptions,  vile  at¬ 
tacks,  and  untrue  statements.  “Man’s  inhumanity  to 
man  makes  countless  millions  mourn.” 

A  Medium’s  Compensation. 

Mediums  have  sometimes  been  censured  for  receiv¬ 
ing  compensation  for  their  services.  Usually  such  cen¬ 
sure  comes  from  persons  who  are  too  penurious  to  pay 
for  services  rendered  them,  or  it  comes  from  the  oppo¬ 
nents  of  Spiritualism  who  wish  to  injure  the  cause  by 
such  criticism.  Mediums  spend  years  of  work  in  get¬ 
ting  their  development  and  education  and  are  thor¬ 
oughly  deserving  of  the  meager  compensation  they 
receive  for  the  great  service  they  render.  As  a  class 
they  are  the  poorest  paid  people  in  any  profession ; 
especially  is  this  true  when  the  value  of  the  service 
they  render  is  considered.  Some  mediums  are  for¬ 
tunate  in  receiving  a  fair  compensation  for  their  ser¬ 
vices,  while  others  are  poorly  paid  indeed.  This  is  true 
of  other  professions.  Ministers  of  the  gospel  of  Chris¬ 
tianity  sometimes  receive  as  high  as  fifty  dollars  or 
more  for  a  sermon,  and  they  spend  no  more  time  in 


102 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSHIP — 


preparation  for  the  ministry  than  mediums  have  spent 
in  theirs. 

Every  one  should  be  compensated  according  to  the 
services  rendered.  The  value  of  the  service  rendered 
by  a  medium  in  placing  one  in  communication  with  his 
spirit  friends  is  a  service  for  which  money  cannot  com¬ 
pensate.  Material  wealth  is  no  equivalent  for  these 
heavenly  blessings.  The  real  compensation  the  me¬ 
dium  receives  for  his  very  valuable  services  is  never 
paid  in  cash.  It  consists  in  knowing  that  he  is  serving 
a  good  cause  and  dispensing  heavenly  blessings.  He  is 
happy  in  the  knowledge  that  he  is  doing  right  and 
doing  good.  This,  together  with  the  words  of  sincere 
thankfulness  and  appreciation  the  medium  receives 
from  those  who  appreciate  the  privilege  of  holding 
communion  with  their  loved  ones,  constitutes  the  real 
compensation  the  medium  receives  for  his  services. 

The  Sub-Conscious  Mind. 

J.  S.  Loveland  says :  “A  dual  body  implies  dual 
I  consciousness.”  We  prefer  to  believe  that  there  is  but 
one  consciousness  belonging  to  each  of  us,  and  that 
when  it  enters  the  vibration  of  the  spiritual,  or  etheric 
body,  which  is  enveloped  within  the  physical  body,  it 
discerns  spiritual  things.  It  is  then  that  mediumship 
becomes  operative. 

The  development  of  mediumship  consists  in  the  un- 
foldment  of  the  spiritual  senses.  Every  muscle  of  the 
body  and  every  faculty  of  the  mind  is  strengthened  by 
the  proper  use  of  mediumship.  As  the  muscles  of  the 
arm  of  the  blacksmith  are  developed  by  proper  use,  so 
may  the  spiritual  senses  receive  their  unfoldment  by 
legitimate  use.  The  improper  use  of  either  is  danger¬ 
ous,  while  their  legitimate  use  is  greatly  beneficial. 


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103 


When  the  consciousness  is  confined  to  the  physical 
organism  it  discerns  from  the  standpoint  of  material 
things;  but  when  it  enters  the  higher  vibration  of  the 
spiritual  organism  it  functions  upon  the  spiritual  plane 
where  it  discerns  spiritual  things.  It  _is  the  same  con¬ 
sciousness  whether  functioning  upon  the  physical  or 
the  spiritual  plane.  This  is  a  great  proven  fact  of 
Modern  Spiritualism.  The  so-called  dead  retain  their 
consciousness,  the  only  consciousness  they  ever  pos¬ 
sessed,  and  are  functioning  upon  the  spiritual  plane  of 
life  after  the  death  of  the  physical  body. 

Therefore  the  theory  of  the  “Sub-conscious.  Mind” 
of  Thomson  J.  Hudson,  and  other  theoretical  dream¬ 
ers,  is  not  an  independent  entity  endowed  with  all 
knowledge  not  possessed  by  the  conscious  mind,  nor 
with  so-called  occult  powers  not  possessed  by  tbe  nor¬ 
mal  man.  This  discovery  (?)  of  a  scientist,  like  many 
others  coming  from  similar  sources,  passes  away  under 
the  light  of  true  science,  as  the  dews  and  fogs  of  the 
morning  disappear  before  the  penetrating  light  of  the 
rising  sun. 


Science  and  Mediumship. 

Modern  Spiritualism  accepts  truth  rather  than  rev¬ 
elation  for  its  authority.  It  follows  wherever  truth 
leads;  consequently  it  is  in  perfect  accord  with  true 
science.  It  has  solved  many  hitherto  unsolved  prob¬ 
lems.  It  has  opened  a  new  field  of  investigation  and 
research  for  the  scientists.  With  its  wonderful  revela¬ 
tion  of  the  future  life,  its  important  facts  concerning 
spiritual  things,  and  its  development  of  man’s  spiritual 
faculties,  it  becomes  of  great  assistance  to  true  science. 
It  also  originated  the  first  and  only  rational  and  sys¬ 
tematic  method  of  communication  with  spirits,  and 


104 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSHIP- 


many  scientists  are  now  using  this  method.  Neither 
Spiritualism  nor  science  has  thus  far  explained  all  of 
the  mysteries  and  wonders  of  the  human  mind,  though 
enough  has  been  discovered  to  indicate  that  there  is 
probably  no  limit  to  its  possibilities. 

Though  material  science  ignores  Spiritualism,  yet 
Spiritualists  and  their  mediums,  with  their  discoveries, 
are  driving  the  material  scientist  to  consider  its  claims. 
The  discovery  of  the  X-rays,  wireless  telegraphy,  etc., 
is  leading  them  up  to  it .  Clairvoyance,  Tel¬ 
epathy,  and  the  other  phases  of  mediumship  are  cer¬ 
tainly  demonstrating  its  truth  in  every  country. 
Through  the  great  work  accomplished  by  our  mediums 
many  material  scientists  have  been  convinced  and  con¬ 
verted  to  its  truth.  Psychical  Research  societies  have 
been  organized  by  scientists,  and  through  mediums  its 
members  have  been  converted.  The  reports  of  these 
societies  have  set  the  world  to  investigating. 

Mediums  are  seldom  given  credit  for  the  facts  ob¬ 
tained  in  this  scientific  research ;  but  many  scientists 
and  others  seem  inclined  to  claim  for  themselves  the 
honor  and  glory  of  these  discoveries,  ignoring  the  me¬ 
dium’s  explanation  of  the  facts,  and  sometimes  ignor¬ 
ing  the  medium  entirely,  when  the  fact  is  that  without 
the  medium,  neither  scientists,  nor  any  one  else,  would 
know  anything  about  the  subject. 

Mediums  as  a  class  have  been  mistrusted,  maligned, 
misrepresented  and  condemned  as  deceivers,  frauds, 
etc.  Malicious  falsehoods  have  been  issued  against 
their  characters  by  unscrupulous  opposers ;  me¬ 
diums  have  experienced  all  the  suffering.  They  have 
received,  at  the  hands  of  many  men  whom  they  have 
blessed,  little  or  no  public  recognition,  and  very  little 
encouragement  or  appreciation. 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


105 


Under  all  circumstances  and  at  all  times,  let  it  be 
remembered  that  in  the  consideration  of  the  subject  of 
Spiritualism,  mediums  are  first.  They  are  first  in  the 
knowledge  of  its  truth ;  first  to  receive  the  spirit  mes¬ 
sage  ;  closest  to  the  spirit  world  and  to  the  loved  arisen 
friends ;  first  to  understand  the  methods  of  communi¬ 
cation  and  the  necessary  conditions  for  their  transmis¬ 
sion. 

It  is  the  medium  who  sees  the  spirit-friends,  hears 
their  voices,  feels  their  presence,  knows  their  thoughts, 
desires  and  feelings.  All  the  rest  of  the  world  must 
take  the  spirit  message  received  by  the  medium,  sec¬ 
ond  hand,  or  not  at  all.  The  medium  is  the  one  who 
knows. 

All  this  being  true,  should  they  still  be  ignored  and 
given  second  place  or  none  at  all,  as  has  been  the  cus¬ 
tom  ?  or  should  there  be  accorded  them  the  right  hand 
of  fellowship,  and  their  beautiful  gifts  recognized  and 
appreciated  ? 

Mediums  are  self-sacrificing  advocates  of  an  unpop¬ 
ular  cause.  Like  Paul  and  Jesus,  many  mediums  of 
today  leave  home  and  friends,  going  out  into  the  world 
among  strangers,  sacrificing  the  comforts  of  home  life 
and  the  associations  of  friends  to  become  wanderers 
on  the  face  of  the  earth.  Some  of  them  could  at  times 
truly  say,  they  have  not  where  to  lay  their  heads. 
May  justice  be  done  to  mediums  and  their  lives  be 
made  brighter. 

Bad  Habits  Cured  by  Spirit  Power. 

In  our  travels  we  have  met  many  people  who  have 
been  cured  of  bad  habits  by  the  aid  of  spirits.  We 
know  people  who  have  been  cured  of  the  drink  habit, 
becoming  sober  men  and  good  citizens  after  having 


106 


SPIRIT  MEDIUM  SHIP - 


gone  to  the  lowest  condition  of  a  drunkard.  We  are 
personally  acquainted  with  those  who  have  become 
slaves  to  the  morphine  habit  and  have  lost  everything 
— property,  business,  friends  and  health — and  have  be¬ 
come  pitiable  human  wrecks,  who  were  taken  by  Spir¬ 
itualists  to  their  seances,  where  the  spirits  removed 
their  appetites  for  the  drug  and  the  patients  were  per¬ 
manently  cured  of  the  terrible  habit,  regaining  their 
manhood,  self-control,  and  proper  place  in  life. 

We  have  several  friends  who  have  been  freed  from 
the  slavery  of  the  tobacco  habit  by  spirit  power,  and 
we  have  met  many  who  have  become  clean,  whole¬ 
some,  and  healthy  men,  by  spirits  having  removed  their 
appetites  for  the  filthy  weed.  JPersonally,  the  author 
was  freed  from  the  habit  of  using  tobacco,  for  which 
he  is  thankful  to  the  spirit  friends  every  day  of  his 
life.  The  following  is  a  brief  statement  of  the  facts  in 
the  case : 


Cured  of  the  Tobacco  Habit. 

The  author  of  this  book  was  thirty-four  years  old 
when  the  spirit  friends  first  placed  him  in  the  trance 
state.  He  had  used  tobacco  twenty  years  and  had 
tried  many  times  to  free  himself  from  the  habit,  but 
his  efforts  always  resulted  in  failure. 

One  evening  soon  after  E.  V.  Wilson  had  become 
one  of  his  spirit  teachers  and  helpers,  while  control¬ 
ling  him,  Mrs.  Sprague  asked  him  if  he  could  not  cure 
the  medium  of  the  tobacco  habit.  His  reply  was  as  fol¬ 
lows  :  “Yes,  lady,  we  can  cure  him  and  we  will  do  so 
when  the  right  time  comes.  The  development  of  me- 
diumship  is  at  first  somewhat  exhausting  to  the  ner¬ 
vous  system.  Tobacco  is  a  stimulant  and  it  would 
somewhat  weaken  the  forces  to  withhold  its  use;  con- 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


107 


sequently  it  would  in  some  degree  retard  the  develop¬ 
ment  of  his  mediumship.  After  he  has  reached  a  cer¬ 
tain  stage  of  development  it  will  do  no  harm,  and  we 
will  then  remove  the  appetite  and  he  will  be  free  from 
the  pernicious  habit.” 

It  was  expected  he  would  be  cured  in  a  few  months, 
but  this  did  not  prove  to  be  the  case.  More  than  six 
years  passed  by,  and  the  author’s  development  con¬ 
tinued.  The  spirit  friends  said  no  more  about  curing 
him  until  on  the  morning  of  June  6,  1887,  as  he  awoke 
from  sleep,  he  heard  the  voice  of  the  spirit  E.  V.  Wil¬ 
son  saying,  “You  will  use  no  tobacco  today,  my  lad.” 
The  author  took  his  tobacco  from  his  pocket  and  put 
it  away.  Later,  as  he  arose  from  the  breakfast  table, 
instinctively  his  hand  moved  towards  his  pocket — 
where  it  was  his  custom  to  carry  his  tobacco — when 
instantly  E.  V.  Wilson  controlled  him  with  wonderful 
power.  Every  nerve  and  muscle  seemed  drawn  to  the 
tightest  tension,  the  jaws  were  set,  his  hands  clenched, 
and  the  well  known  voice  of  his  spirit  helper  spoke  to 
him  in  a  strong  and  emphatic  manner,  saying,  “No, 
sir!”  Immediately  the  medium’s  muscles  relaxed  and 
he  was  free  from  the  influence.  This  condition  lasted 
probably  not  more  than  thirty  seconds.  During  the 
day  this  experience  was  repeated  perhaps  a  half  dozen 
times. 

On  the  following  morning,  June  7th,  the  author  was 
awakened  by  the  kindly  voice  of  this  same  spirit 
friend,  saying  to  him  in  the  same  decided  tone  as  be¬ 
fore,  “You  will  never  use  any  more  tobacco,  my  lad.” 
During  this  day  the  desire  for  tobacco  came  to  him  but 
two  or  three  times,  and  each  time  the  experience  of 
the  day  before  came  and  took  it  away.  The  desire  for 
tobacco  disappeared  there  and  then,  and  has  never  re- 


108 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSHIP - 


turned  to  him,  though  twenty-five  years  have  passed 
since  this  modern  miracle  (?)  was  performed. 

He  had  tried  many  times  to  free  himself  of  the 
habit,  and  had  prayed  to  have  it  removed.  He  had 
even  declared  that  he  would  never  use  it  again.  All 
this  he  had  done  to  rid  himself  of  this  filthy,  relentless 
and  ever  present  demon  that  haunted  his  daily  life,  but 
all  his  efforts  were  as  naught  until  the  spirit  friends 
interceded  and  he  was  made  free. 

Today  his  thankfulness  goes  out  to  those  dear  ones 
under  whose  guiding  care  he  has  walked  in  the  light  of 
spiritual  truth  receiving  its  blessings  for  thirty  years 
and  more.  Twenty-five  of  these  fruitful  years  his 
body  and  soul  have  been  unpolluted  by  the  use  of  to¬ 
bacco.  This  is  another  proof  that  mediumship  is  a 
powerful  factor  for  good  when  properly  used. 

If  one  who  is  mediumistic  desires  to  get  rid  of  any 
bad  habit,  and  earnestly  prays  to  his  spirit  friends  for 
help  to  do  so,  and  concentrates  his  mind  upon  it,  de¬ 
termining  to  succeed,  he  will  certainly  receive  spirit 
assistance.  If  he  holds  the  thought,  continues  to 
aspire  for  it,  and  wills  it  continually,  he  is  almost  sure 
to  be  relieved  of  the  desire  for  it.  When  the  desire  is 
gone  he  is  cured. 

Sometimes  the  appetite  or  desire  is  taken  away  at 
once,  and  sometimes  it  requires  time.  Perseverence 
on  the  part  of  the  patient  will  certainly  bring  success. 

Dark  Circles. 

The  following  question  is  often  asked,  “Why  do 
Spiritualists  hold  dark  circles?”  and  we  may  ask, 
Why  do  opposers  of  Spiritualism  make  a  great  hand¬ 
ling  of  this  subject  in  their  frenzied  and  hopeless  strug¬ 
gle  to  destroy  Spiritualism  and  overthrow  its  teach¬ 
ings  ?  In  reply  to  the  question,  we  will  say : 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


109 


Negative  conditions  are  often  necessary  for  the  pro¬ 
duction  of  phenomena.  Light  is  positive,  darkness  is 
negative.  In  the  production  of  certain  spirit  phe¬ 
nomena  darkness  is  helpful  if  not  entirely  necessary. 
We  are  told  that  the  productions  of  the  earth  all  re¬ 
quire  the  negative  conditions  of  night,  the  same  as  they 
require  the  positive  condition  of  the  sun  and  daylight. 
Spiritualists  not  having  made  the  laws  governing  phe¬ 
nomena  should  not  be  blamed  if  they,  like  other  peo¬ 
ple,  must  become  subject  to  them.  The  law  must  be 
obeyed  in  every  realm  of  nature  or  nothing  is  accom¬ 
plished. 

Human  beings  are  materialized  spirits,  nothing  more 
nothing  less.  They  are  spirits  inhabiting  a  material¬ 
ized  body,  and  every  one  of  them  held  a  dark  seance 
before  his  materialized  body  could  appear  in  the  light. 
Nearly  everything  that  has  life  on  this  planet  first  held 
a  dark  seance  before  materializing  to  view.  This  be¬ 
ing  nature’s  law,  it  can  readily  be  seen,  by  those  who 
wish  to  see,  that  nature  produces  one  materialization 
with  the  same  grace  and  ease  as  another.  She  ma¬ 
terializes  the  spirit  of  one  who  has  died  as  easily  as 
she  produces  a  head  of  wheat  from  a  kernel  that  has 
died  and  its  body  gone  to  decay. 

The  materialization  of  a  flower,  an  ear  of  corn,  a 
bird,  a  horse,  or  a  man  are  all  mysteries  which  we  can 
not  explain.  Our  lack  of  ability  to  explain  why  dark¬ 
ness  is  necessary  in  every  such  case,  does  not  disprove 
the  fact  of  their  appearance  among  us ;  nor  does  it 
prove  that  such  seances  are  humbugs  or  frauds. 
Neither  does  our  ignorance  of  the  first  cause  which 
produces  the  materialization  of  a  spirit  at  a  Spiritualist 
seance  disprove  the  fact  that  such  phenomena  do  oc- 


110 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSHIP — 


cur.  All  are  subject  to  law  and  must  submit  to  its 
rulings. 

As  a  vile  word  may  destroy  the  happiness  of  a  large 
gathering  of  harmonious  people ;  as  a  magnet  placed 
near  the  mariner’s  compass  may  influence  the  needle, 
change  the  course  of  the  ship,  and  cause  its  wreck  upon 
the  rocks,  so  a  ray  of  light  admitted  into  the  dark 
seance  room  may  ruin  the  conditions  necessary  for  the 
production  of  spirit  phenomena.  But  very  few  phases 
of  mediumship  require  absolute  darkness.  More  phe¬ 
nomena  are  produced  in  light  than  in  darkness. 

Many  mediums  are  sitting  in  dark  seances  to  develop 
mental  phases  of  mediumship.  This  is  a  great  mistake. 
All  mental  phases  of  mediumship  may  be  developed 
more  rapidly  and  better  in  light  than  in  darkness. 
Many  mediums  are  sitting  in  dark  circles  for  develop¬ 
ment  of  physical  mediumship  who  will  never  develop 
those  phases,  but  who  could,  by  making  proper  condi¬ 
tions  and  sitting  in  the  light,  develop  the  mental  phases. 

Mediums  seeking  development  should  ascertain 
through  personal  experiences,  by  sitting  in  both  light 
and  dark  circles,  which  condition  is  best  for  them  and 
for  their  development.  A  soft  mellow  light  is  better 
for  the  eyes  and  much  better  than  darkness  for  the  de¬ 
velopment  of  all  mental  phases  of  mediumship. 

The  phenomena  recorded  in  scripture  and  called 
miracles  by  Christians  were  principally  produced  in 
darkness.  The  dark  seances  of  the  Christian  Bible  far 
outnumber  the  light  seances  recorded  there.  In  this 
matter  the  world  has  greatly  progressed  since  those 
ancient  days.  More  than  ninety  per  cent  of  the  spir¬ 
itual  phenomena  of  today  are  given  in  the  light.  Prog¬ 
ress  is  shown  in  this.  The  law  of  evolution  prevails 
throughout  the  earth  and  the  heavens. 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


Ill 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Indian  Spirits  as  Controls. 

The  Indian  Hunter. 

BY  ELIZA  COOK. 

Oh !  Why  does  the  white  man  follow  my  path, 

Like  a  hound  on  the  tiger’s  track? 

Does  the  flush  on  my  dark  cheek  waken  his  wrath — 
Does  he  covet  the  bow  at  my  back? 

He  has  rivers  and  seas,  where  the  billows  and  breeze 
Bear  riches  for  him  alone ; 

And  the  sons  of  the  wood  never  plunge  in  the  flood 
Which  the  white  man  calls  his  own. 

Why,  then,  should  he  come  to  the  streams  where  none 
But  the  red  man  dares  to  swim? 

Why,  why  should  he  wrong  the  hunter — one 
Who  never  did  harm  to  him? 

The  father  above  thought  fit  to  give 
The  white  man  corn  and  wine ; 

There  are  golden  fields  where  he  may  live, 

But  the  forest  shades  are  mine. 

The  eagle  hath  its  place  of  rest ; 

The  wild  horse  where  to  dwell ; 

And  the  spirit  that  gave  the  bird  its  nest, 

Made  me  a  home  as  well. 

Then  back !  go  back  from  the  red  man’s  track, 

For  the  hunter’s  eyes  grow  dim ; 

To  find  that  the  white  man  wrongs  the  one 
Who  never  did  harm  to  him. 


112 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSHIP — 


The  spirits  of  the  North  American  Indians  fill  a 
very  important  place  in  mediumship  and  Spirtualism 
in  America.  They  are  faithful,  honest,  loving,  and 
kind.  They  bring  a  healing  power  unequaled  by  the 
spirits  of  any  other  people.  Nearly  all  Indian  spirit 
guides  are  those  who  lived  here  before  the  Indians 
were  contaminated  by  the  influence  of  the  civilized  (?) 
white  man. 

These  undefiled  and  noble  red  men  lived  nearer  to 
nature  and  obeyed  her  laws  better  than  we  do  now. 
They  lived  a  free  and  natural  life  in  the  open  air. 
They  did  not  ruin  their  physical  bodies  by  overwork, 
over-indulgence,  etc.  They  knew  not  the  use  of  whis¬ 
key,  morphine,  and  other  poisonous  drugs  that  are  so 
ruinous  to  the  health.  Their  food  was  plain  and  simple. 
They  ate  when  hungry,  not  at  intervals  marked  by  the 
clock  nor  at  mid-night  as  is  our  custom  at  social  and 
other  gatherings.  Their  food  consisted  of  but  one  or 
two  kinds  at  each  meal.  Twelve-course  dinners  were 
unknown  to  them.  As  a  result  of  the  natural  lives 
these  Aborigines  lived,  they  developed  the  finest  phy¬ 
siques.  They  were  tall,  straight,  agile  and  athletic.  They 
were  free-born  American  citizens.  They  were  nat¬ 
urally  religious;  they  worshiped  the  “Great  Spirit,” 
and  believed  in  a  natural  spirit-world  called  the  “Happy 
Hunting  Grounds.”  They  saw  and  communicated  with 
spirits;  received  spirit  manifestations  of  a  physical 
nature,  and  were,  in  their  crude  and  undeveloped  way, 
Spiritualists.  They  were  not  mentally  shrouded  in  the 
gloom  of  the  doctrines  of  “eternal  punishment,”  “total 
depravity,”  “a  physical  ressurection,”  etc.,  nor  were 
they  hampered  by  a  belief  in  “three  gods  in  one,” 
“atonement  by  blood,”  “salvation  through  faith,”  and 
the  other  inconsistencies  of  the  creeds  of  the  religions 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


113 


of  our  boasted  civilization  that  drive  white  men  in¬ 
sane,  weaken  their  intellects,  and  drown  their  reason. 

The  North  American  Indians  when  first  discovered 
by  the  white  men,  and  before  they  were  polluted  by 
the  civilizing  (?)  influences  of  whiskey,  gun-powder, 
and  vile  diseases,  were  “pure  in  heart  and  sound  in 
head.” 

Their  religion  was  simple  and  natural,  as  were  their 
modes  of  life.  Their  living  so  near  to  nature,  and  be¬ 
lieving  in  spirit  return  as  they  did  before  entering 
spirit  life,  becomes  a  great  help  to  them  in  using  na¬ 
ture’s  laws  to  return  to  us  from  the  “happy  hunting 
grounds,”  which  they  now  inhabit.  They  gladly  teach 
us  the  great  truths  their  experience  in  that  realm  has 
taught  them,  and  they  possess  the  wonderful  ability  of 
preparing  the  way  for  our  less  fortunate  white  people 
to  return  and  communicate  through  mediums. 

These  noble  spirits  of  the  red  men  always  bring  a 
strong  and  helpful  magnetic  influence  to  the  medium, 
permeating  his  system  with  the  life  forces  that  build 
up  the  physical  body  and  lend  vigor  to  the  mentality. 

Whoever  heard  of  an  Indian  spirit’s  bringing  upon 
a  medium  the  physical  conditions  caused  by  the  illness 
with  which  he  passed  away? 

In  the  thirty  years  of  experience  as  a  medium  and 
constant  worker  in  the  movement  of  Modern  Spirit¬ 
ualism,  we  have  never  known  of  such  a  case.  Further¬ 
more,  we  have  never  known  of  an  Indian  Spirit’s  giv¬ 
ing  a  false  communication  or  misrepresenting  a  single 
fact.  Indian  spirits  are  among  the  most  truthful,  loyal 
and  helpful  healers,  teachers,  and  guides  of  mediums 
that  come  to  bless  the  world.  They  are  almost  indis¬ 
pensable  in  the  work  of  the  development  of  medium- 
ship. 


114 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSHIP — 


We  have  never  known  a  medium  who  was  too  proud 
or  aristocratic  to  allow  Indian  Spirits  to  control  him, 
who  made  a  success  in  the  development  of  medium- 
ship.  We  are  personally  acquainted  with  many  who 
have  derived  the  greatest  benefit  in  health  of  body  and 
mind,  and  in  mediumistic  development  through  the  aid 
of  the  spirits  of  these  much  abused,  greatly  despised, 
and  shamefully  wronged  people.  Though  the  white 
man  has  robbed  them  of  their  homes,  cheated  them  out 
of  their  hunting  grounds,  and  driven  them  back  far¬ 
ther  and  farther  as  civilization  progressed,  nearly  an¬ 
nihilating  them  from  the  face  of  the  earth,  as  they 
have  annihilated  their  mighty  herds  of  Buffalo  that 
once  roamed  the  western  plains,  yet  those  dear  Indian 
spirits  return  to  our  seances  bringing  innumerable 
blessings  to  our  mediums  and  to  those  to  whom  they 
minister.  May  heaven  bless  our  dear  Indian  spirits, 
as  well  as  all  other  noble  and  true  spirit  helpers,  who 
are  doing  so  much  to  enlighten  the  children  of  earth 
and  make  the  world  better. 

Many  Mediums  Begin  Public  Work  Too  Soon. 

There  are  many  cases  in  which  mediums  have  en¬ 
tered  the  field  of  public  work  before  they  were  well 
equipped  for  it.  They  should  have  continued  their 
development  until  they  were  more  fully  prepared  for 
the  work. 

We  recall  a  case  in  which  one  of  Mrs.  Sprague’s 
converts,  who,  after  her  conversion  to  Spiritualism,  de¬ 
veloped  mediumship  very  rapidly,  became  a  healer, 
gave  private  readings  and  circles,  and  after  a  brief 
time  she  was  posing  as  a  platform  test  medium,  com¬ 
ing  into  prominence  at  once.  Later,  we  were  in¬ 
formed,  she  proved  a  failure  as  a  platform  test  me- 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


115 


dium,  disappointing  those  who  employed  her.  She 
then  ceased  to  receive  engagements,  and  finally  de¬ 
serted  the  Spiritualist  ranks  entirely,  giving  up  the 
practice  of  her  mediumship  and  dropping  out  of  sight. 
Subsequently  we  were  informed  that  she  had  rejoined 
the  Christian  church  and  came  out  as  a  Divine 
Healer,  thus  uniting  with  those  of  her  own  class  of 
half  developed  apostates. 

The  foregoing  brief  story  of  one  medium  who  en¬ 
tered  public  work  before  being  sufficiently  developed 
is  similar  to  that  of  many  more  of  the  same  class. 

We  are  always  sorry  for  mediums  who  undertake 
to  do  more  than  they  are  qualified  to  do.  Here  are  two 
extremes :  Some  mediums  are  lacking  in  confidence 
and  retard  their  own  development  through  fear  of 
making  a  mistake.  Others  have  too  much  self-confi¬ 
dence,  accepting  their  own  imaginary  ideas  as  spirit 
impressions  which,  of  course,  must  lead  to  disaster. 

The  former  bars  the  medium’s  development  by  with¬ 
holding  the  spirit  message  for  fear  it  may  not  be  rec¬ 
ognized  ;  while  the  latter,  using  little  or  no  discretion, 
innocently  accepting  his  own  thoughts  as  spirit  impres¬ 
sions,  soon  finds  himself  in  trouble. 

Every  medium  while  developing,  and  every  Spirit¬ 
ualist  and  investigator,  should  learn  that  mediums 
make  these  mistakes  innocently,  and  that  they  should 
not  be  censured  therefor.  Mediums  should  learn  to 
give  out  whatever  seems  to  them  to  come  from  spirits, 
and  these  impressions  should  be  accepted,  not  as  infal¬ 
lible  truth,  but  as  possibly  erroneous,  though  they 
usually  prove  to  be  absolutely  true. 

A  medium  may  overestimate  the  powers  of  the  spirit 
operating  through  his  organism,  because  of  the  won¬ 
derful  revelations  he  has  received  through  his  own 


116 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSHIP — 


mediumship;  yet  it  is  not  possible  for  anyone  to  draw 
the  line  as  to  the  possibilities  of  the  communicating 
spirits. 

The  medium  learns  through  the  practice  of  his  me¬ 
diumship  to  distinguish  between  the  action  of  his  own 
mind  and  spirit  impressions,  and  this  constitutes  a 
part  of  his  mediumistic  development.  The  best  devel¬ 
oped  mediums  are  at  times  bothered  to  distinguish 
between  their  own  minds  and  the  impressions  of  the 
spirit,  especially  when  conditions  are  unfavorable. 
They  are  very  much  better  qualified  to  do  so  than  one 
who  has  had  but  little  experience. 

One  who  stands  upon  the  public  rostrum  as  a  test 
medium,  or  holds  public  seances,  must  through  prac¬ 
tice  learn  how  to  become  passive  to  the  influence  of 
spirit-friends,  and  positive  to  his  audience.  Impossi¬ 
ble  as  this  may  seem  to  one  who  is  inexperienced,  it  is 
nevertheless  sometimes  the  case,  and  it  shows  how  per¬ 
fectly  at  sea  an  undeveloped  medium  becomes  who  at¬ 
tempts  such  work.  It  is  suicidal  to  one’s  mediumistic 
development  to  enter  the  public  work  too  soon.  Every 
medium  should  make  haste  slowly  in  this  matter. 

Mediums  are  usually  not  so  much  to  blame  for  this 
indiscretion  as  are  their  friends  and  admirers,  who 
often  unwittingly  urge  them  to  take  up  the  public 
work.  The  remedy  for  all  the  trouble  caused  by  this 
inadvertency  is  simple  and  sure.  Give  the  dear  me¬ 
diums  time  for  better  development  before  inviting 
them  to  assume  the  great  task  and  responsibility  of  at¬ 
tempting  public  demonstrations. 

In  his  own  case,  the  author  gave  private  readings 
and  public  seances  for  about  eight  years  before  at¬ 
tempting  to  give  public  platform  tests  and  messages, 
and  then  it  was  not  he  who  did  it.  He  was  speaking 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


117 


for  the  Jamestown,  N.  Y.,  Spiritual  Society,  which  we 
organized.  One  evening  while  the  author  was  en¬ 
tranced  by  the  spirit  of  E.  V.  Wilson  and  delivering 
a  lecture,  he  made  the  statement  that  when  our  friends 
move  away  to  some  distant  part  of  the  country  and  we 
do  not  hear  from  them  often,  we  are  greatly  pleased 
to  get  a  letter  or  other  communication  from  them.  To 
illustrate  this  point  he  said:  “There  is  a  spirit  lady 
present  who  wishes  to  send  home  a  communication. 
She  has  been  gone  nearly  ten  years,  she  says,  and  she 
seems  very  anxious  to  reach  her  son,  who  sits  right 
over  there”  (pointing  to  a  gentleman  in  the  audience). 
“She  says,  she  passed  away  at  the  age  of  sixty-two 
years.  Her  disease  was  tuberculosis  of  the  lungs ; 
that  you,  sir,  (the  gentleman  referred  to)  were  hold¬ 
ing  her  head  in  your  arms  when  she  breathed  her  last ; 
and  she  comes  with  a  message  of  love  and  thankful¬ 
ness  to  you  and  your  good  wife  for  the  tenderness  and 
patience  with  which  you  cared  for  her  in  her  last  ill¬ 
ness.” 

Much  more  was  given  in  this  spirit  message.  The 
gentleman  acknowledged  the  test  as  correct,  and  the 
author  had  begun  his  work  as  a  platform  test  medium. 
From  that  day  he  followed  nearly  all  of  his  lectures 
with  platform  tests  and  messages. 

His  eight  years  of  private  work  and  of  public  speak¬ 
ing  had  prepared  him  for  the  work  of  a  platform  test 
medium,  and  the  spirit  friends  decided  the  time  when 
he  was  sufficiently  developed  for  the  work.  He  had 
nothing  to  do  with  it.  He  had  no  mind  about  it, 
though  he  was  delighted  when  he  was  called  to  fill  that 
all-important  position  in  the  work  of  Modern  Spirit¬ 
ualism. 

Mrs.  Sprague  was  still  longer  in  her  preparation  for 


118 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSHIP — 


platform  work,  and  was  placed  there  without  a  single 
effort  on  her  part.  No  one  could  be  more  surprised 
than  she  was,  when,  after  nearly  ten  years  of  service 
as  a  medium  for  private  readings  and  seances,  she  re¬ 
ceived  a  program  of  the  Maple  Dell  Spiritualist  Camp 
meeting  to  be  held  at  Mantua,  Ohio,  and  found  in  it 
her  own  portrait  by  the  side  of  the  author’s,  and  the 
announcement  that  she  would  give  two  lectures  and 
follow  them  with  clairvoyant  descriptions,  spirit  mes¬ 
sages  and  tests.  She  responded  to  this  call,  was  suc¬ 
cessful,  and  has  continued  ever  since  to  fill  the  impor¬ 
tant  place  of  speaker  and  platform  test  medium  in 
addition  to  her  private  work  as  a  medium. 

To  Our  Mediums. 

You  are  selected  by  the  angels  of  heaven  to  fulfil 
the  most  important  mission  allotted  to  mankind.  Be 
not  in  a  hurry ;  take  everything  calmly ;  keep  serene 
and  push  ahead  in  your  development.  When  you  are 
thoroughly  and  well  qualified,  duly  and  truly  prepared, 
the  way  will  be  opened  for  you,  and  your  work  will 
be  such  as  shall  cause  your  old  friends  to  be  proud  of 
you.  The  multitudes  of  your  new-found  friends  will 
bless  your  very  name,  while  angels  will  rejoice  with  us 
all  because  of  your  success. 

Mediums  Should  Cultivate  Self  Control  and  Self 
Reliance. 

They  should  not  submit  to  the  control  of  spirits  at 
all  times  and  in  all  places.  They  should  cultivate  self- 
control  and  learn  to  keep  an  even  mind  at  all  times, 
and  under  all  circumstances.  They  should  learn  at 
the  outset  of  their  development  that  the  spirits  are 
only  people  who  once  inhabited  physical  bodies  in  this 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


119 


life,  the  same  as  we  are  now  doing;  that  they  have 
learned  more  than  we  have  learned,  because  they  have 
experienced  the  change  from  the  visible  to  the  spiritual 
world.  They  are  not  infallible,  nor  .should  they  be¬ 
come  anything  more  than  teachers,  advisers,  compan¬ 
ions,  helpers  and  friends  to  mediums. 

Wise  spirits  never  become  arbitrary,  dictatory, 
domineering  controls.  They  always  seek  to  develop  a 
strong  individuality  in  their  mediums,  and  open  ave¬ 
nues  of  knowledge  to  the  students  of  Spiritual  Philoso¬ 
phy  and  point  the  way  to  its  great  truths.  They  give 
advice,  and  in  various  ways  lend  assistance  to  the 
medium  in  his  efforts  to  learn  and  instruct  others, 
always  allowing  and  insisting  upon  the  medium's  and 
the  student’s  placing  their  own  interpretation  on  every 
lesson,  theory,  or  fact  of  spiritual  science  taught. 

Like  attracts  like,  and  a  medium  when  developed 
may  be  controlled  by  a  certain  spirit,  or  he  may  not  be, 
just  as  he  wills  it  to  be.  No  spirit  can  control  a  me¬ 
dium  without  his  consent,  or  against  his  will. 

If  the  medium  has  sufficient  will  to  refuse,  the  spirit 
is  helpless  to  control.  The  medium  should  decide  who 
shall  be  allowed  to  control  him  and  who  shall  not. 

The  medium  may  choose  his  spirit  controls  from 
among  those  who  may  come  to  him,  or  he  may  refuse 
to  be  controlled  by  any  of  them,  just  as  the  hypnotic 
subject  may  give  himself  over  to  the  control  of  any 
hypnotist,  or  refuse  to  become  subject  to  any  of  them. 
This  being  true,  the  medium  may  become  a  student  of 
his  choice  of  spirit  teachers,  the  same  as  he  may  select 
his  school  teachers  in  this  life. 

The  proper  use  of  mediumship  strengthens  the  will¬ 
power  and  develops  the  individuality  of  its  possessor. 
The  character  of  the  medium  will  determine  the  class 


120 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSHIP — 


of  spirit  intelligence  that  he  will  attract  to  himself.  If 
his  desires,  aspirations,  and  practices  in  life  are  of  an 
exalted  nature;  if  he  seeks  to  be  noble,  true  and  pro¬ 
gressive,  he  will  attract  those  who  will  assist  him  in 
his  desires.  “Like  attracts  like”  in  the  sphere  of  me- 
diumship.  A  medium  may  easily  learn  the  character 
of  his  controls  (“by  their  works  ye  shall  know  them”). 
He  may  reject  one  and  accept  another,  as  he  pleases. 

The  belief  that  the  medium  is  a  helpless  nonentity 
in  the  hands  of  a  spirit  hypnotist,  or  a  hypnotist  in 
the  mortal  form,  is  a  very  unfortunate  error.  It  is 
dangerous  to  teach  it  to  mediums  as  it  produces  a  bad 
suggestion,  which  is  often  fatal  to  the  development  of 
good  and  valuable  mediumship. 

It  is  a  settled  fact  with  us  that  no  operator  can  con¬ 
trol  an  intelligent  subject  against  his  will.  The  sub¬ 
ject  must  allow  himself  to  be  controlled  or  the  oper¬ 
ator  fails. 

The  following  statements  of  Dr.  La  Motte  Sage 
embody  a  number  of  valuable  facts  which  every  me¬ 
dium  and  Spiritualist,  as  well  as  every  honest  opponent 
of  spirit  mediumship  may  study  with  profit.  He  is 
quoted  as  follows : 

1.  “No  one  can  be  hypnotized  against  his  will.” 

2.  “No  one  can  be  hypnotized  unless  he  complies 
with  certain  conditions,  and  does  his  part  to  bring 
about  that  state.” 

3.  “Anyone  who  is  hypnotized  may  have  done 
more  himself  to  induce  the  state  than  the  operator  has 
done.” 

4.  “The  hypnotist  possesses  no  special  power,  nor 
can  he  gain  permanent  control  over  anyone  or  absolute 
control  even  temporarily,  without  the  subject’s  con¬ 
sent.” 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


121 


5.  “To  be  hypnotized  in  no  respect  shows  a  weak¬ 
ness,  nor  is  the  condition  in  any  sense  a  pathological 

ff 

one. 

6.  “Hypnotism  of  itself  is  absolutely  free  from 
harm.” 

This  expresses  our  views  on  the  subject.  We 
thoroughly  believe  these  statements  are  true ;  and 
if  they  are  true,  the  developed  medium  is  safe,  the 
dangers  of  mediumship,  the  teachings  of  the  doctrines 
of  “obsession,”  with  all  of  their  supposed  horrors  dis¬ 
appear  and  fade  into  oblivion.  Believers  in  such  dog¬ 
mas  and  errors  should  awaken  to  the  beauty,  safety 
and  great  value  of  well  developed  mediumship. 

Mediums  Should  Demand  Their  Own  Conditions. 

Mediums  should  develop  sufficient  independence  to 
assert  their  rights,  and  compel  investigators  to  comply 
with  the  rules  of  the  seance  room  and  all  conditions 
necessary  for  good  results.  Investigators  should  not 
attempt  to  dictate  as  to  the  conditions  for  the  seances, 
and  one  persisting  in  so  doing  should  be  invited  to 
retire  from  the  circle  at  once. 

Mediums  should  be  provided  for  so  they  would  not 
need  to  worry  about,  or  struggle  for  a  living.  They 
should  not  be  obliged  to  give  readings  for  any  person 
who  is  repulsive  to  them.  No  one  but  a  medium  for 
public  work  knows  the  humiliation  these  sensitives 
endure  in  consequence  of  the  ignorance  and  lack  of 
spirituality  of  some  of  their  patrons. 

Mediums  should  not  be  obliged  to  give  readings 
when  they  are  not  well,  or  when  not  in  the  proper 
mood.  When  the  rent  is  due,  or  the  children  need 
clothes,  or  the  grocer’s  bill  must  be  paid,  the  poor 
soul,  through  actual  need,  is  goaded  on  to  misuse  her 


122 


SPIRIT  MEDIUM  SHIP — - 


sacred  gifts  in  the  endeavor  to  satisfy  the  sitter  and 
earn  the  dollar  necessary  to  keep  her  little  family  to¬ 
gether. 

May  God,  angels  and  men,  pity  the  poor  medium 
who  must  give  readings  when  her  soul  revolts  at  the 
condition  her  sitter  brings,  or  when  the  laws  of  health 
demand  rest  for  her  tired  nerves. 

Mediums’  Guides  Assist  Other  Spirits. 

In  many  instances  mediums’  guides  act  as  spirit 
messengers,  giving  the  messages  for  other  spirits  who 
wish  to  communicate. 

All  spirits  are  not  able  to  communicate  through  one 
particular  medium.  Many  spirits  know  little  or  noth¬ 
ing  about  the  laws  of  spirit  control,  and  could  not 
communicate  without  assistance.  In  such  cases  mis¬ 
takes  are  sometimes  made  in  the  transmission  of  the 
message,  the  same  as  occurs  in  this  life  when  a  tele¬ 
graph  operator  errs  in  the  transmission  of  a  telegram. 
Allowances  should  always  be  made  for  possible  er¬ 
rors  in  spirit  messages. 

Work  of  a  Medium’s  Spirit  Band. 

In  the  development  of  a  medium,  the  wisest  of 
spirit  attendants  are  often  obliged  to  experiment  in 
order  to  learn  what  mediumistic  qualities  their  sub¬ 
ject  possesses,  and  to  know  the  best  way  to  unfold 
those  latent  powers.  After  this  has  been  determined, 
different  spirits  who  possess  particular  phases  of  med- 
iumship  are  each  placed  in  charge  of  that  particular 
phase  to  be  developed  in  the  medium. 

A  spirit  who  has  good  clairvoyant  power  may  be 
assigned  to  the  work  of  the  development  of  the  med¬ 
ium’s  clairvoyance.  A  spirit  who  possesses  great 
healing  power  is  assigned  to  the  care  of  the  medium’s 
health,  and  to  the  development  of  his  powers  of  heal- 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


123 


ing.  A  spirit  who  has  poetical  genius  may  become 
the  medium’s  poetical  inspirer,  helping  him  in  the  de¬ 
velopment  of  that  mediumistic  faculty,  as  well  as  in 
clothing  the  messages  of  other  communicating  spirits 
in  poetical  language.  A  spirit  who  possesses  the  med¬ 
iumistic  qualities  and  development  for  the  physical 
phase  of  mediumship  may  be  assigned  to  the  unfold- 
ment  of  these  particular  powers  of  the  medium,  and 
this  may  continue  until  competent  spirit-guides  are 
in  charge  of  all  the  mediumistic  qualities  to  be  devel¬ 
oped  in  the  medium. 

The  spirit  band  becomes  organized  with  a  leader, 
all  of  them  working  together  in  harmony  and  to  the 
best  advantage  for  the  preparation  of  the  medium  for 
his  work.  When  he  is  sufficiently  developed,  they 
work  with  him  and  through  him  in  proving  a  future 
life  and  teaching  the  science,  philosophy,  and  religion 
of  Spiritualism. 

There  are  many  things  to  be  learned  in  studying 
this  department  of  Modern  Spiritualism.  A  spirit  may 
possess  great  clairvoyant  powers,  and  the  medium 
may  have  developed  that  gift  also,  but  if  the  spiritual 
forces  of  the  spirit  and  the  magnetic  forces  of  the 
medium  do  not  harmonize  and  blend  freely,  the  best 
results  are  not  obtained.  The  same  law  governs  every 
other  phase  of  mediumship.  Therefore,  it  is  plain  to 
be  seen  that  the  spirit  guardians  need  to  learn  by  ex¬ 
perience  what  spirit  is  best  adapted  to  co-operate  with 
the  medium  in  the  practice  of  each  phase  of  his 
mediumship. 

The  development  of  any  one  of  these  spiritual  fac¬ 
ulties  requires  study,  experiment  and  practice,  as  well 
as  patience  and  perseverance  on  the  part  of  the  spirit 
teachers.  When  the  medium  heartily  participates  in 


124 


SPIRIT  MEDIUM  SHIP — 


the  work,  placing  confidence  and  trust  in  the  spirit 
teachers,  the  development  is  more  rapid,  the  mani¬ 
festations  more  perfect,  and  the  results  better. 

Each  one  of  the  spirit  helpers  may  possess  other 
phases  of  mediumship  besides  the  one  assigned  to 
him  in  any  particular  case.  One  who  has  healing 
power  may  also  be  clairvoyant  in  a  greater  or  less  de¬ 
gree,  or  he  may  possess  physical  mediumship  to  some 
extent,  and  he  may  use  these  powers  at  times  in  con¬ 
junction  with  the  practice  of  the  phase  assigned  to 
him. 

In  the  author’s  case  “Old  Doctor,”  an  Indian  spirit, 
uses  him  to  diagnose  disease  more  successfully  than 
any  other  member  of  his  band.  While  other  mem¬ 
bers  cause  him  to  see  clairvoyantly  at  times. 

Lotunda  Modjeska,  a  French-Italian  artist,  controls 
him  to  read  character  as  do  some  other  spirit  guides. 

Andrew  Payn,  an  Episcopal  minister  when  in  earth 
life,  improvises  and  sometimes  writes  verse  through 
his  hand.  It  is  seldom  that  any  other  spirit  attempts 
this  intricate  task,  and  probably  because  of  the  med¬ 
ium’s  poetical  faculties  being  so  poorly  developed,  and 
the  little  prospect  for  their  improvement  in  this  life. 
This  spirit  also  inspires  or  controls  the  medium  to 
lecture  at  times. 

E.  V.  Wilson,  who  was  selected  as  leader  of  the 
author’s  spirit  band,  uses  his  powers  in  various  ways 
to  assist  in  the  work,  but  principally  in  inspiring  or 
controlling  the  medium  in  public  speaking  and  in  giv¬ 
ing  spirit  messages  and  tests  to  public  audiences  and 
elsewhere.  Thus  the  workers  are  organized,  and  the 
work  properly  systematized  and  successfully  carried 
on. 

Experience  is  the  best  of  teachers,  and  the  author’s 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


125 


oft  repeated  reference  to  his  own  mediumistic  exper¬ 
iences  may  be  pardoned  by  the  reader  as  he  uses  these 
substantial  facts  and  personal  proofs  instead  of  hear¬ 
say  evidence,  or  vague  theories  in  substantiating  his 
claims.  Actual  personal  experiences  and  positive 
demonstrated  facts  are  of  the  greatest  value  as  com¬ 
pared  with  hearsay  evidence  and  far-fetched  theories 
based  largely  upon  guess  work. 

The  medium  knows  what  others  may  believe,  and 
consequently  is  better  qualified  to  discuss  matters  per¬ 
taining  to  mediumship  and  Spiritualism. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Advice  and  Teachings  of  Spirits  Beautiful. 

In  the  thirty  years  of  our  almost  daily  intercourse 
with  the  spirits  of  the  departed,  through  our  own 
mediumship  as  well  as  that  of  many  others,  we  have 
never  received  a  message  or  heard  one  given  that  ad¬ 
vised  anyone  to  do  wrong.  They  always  teach  that 
if  we  would  be  happy  we  must  be  good  and  do  good; 
that  true  happiness  lies  in  making  others  happy.  Their 
teachings  are  elevating,  consoling,  and  helpful.  Their 
words  of  comfort  to  the  dying  are:  “Fear  not,  death 
is  not  a  calamity,  but  is  the  greatest  of  blessings.  It 
reunites  you  with  the  darlings  gone  before.”  The 
spirit  comforts  the  living  mourners  with  the  assur¬ 
ance  that  their  darlings  are  not  dead,  nor  sleeping; 


9 


126 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSHIP — 


that  they  have  not  gone  far  away,  but  are  often  near 
them. 

Certainly  such  teachings,  do  not  emanate  from 
“evil  spirits,”  as  the  Catholic  and  some  of  the  Protes¬ 
tant  Churches,  Theosophic  societies,  and  other  grossly 
unjust  and  unreasonable  opponents  of  Modern  Spirit¬ 
ualism  would  have  the  world  believe. 

The  simple  though  elevating  fact  that  spirits  always 
teach  us  to  be  good,  and  do  good,  never  advising  us 
to  do  evil,  or  commit  a  wrong,  is  proof  positive  that 
they  are  not  “evil  spirits”  or  “fallen  angels.”  If  it 
were  “the  devil,”  who  is  teaching  the  people  of  this 
world  to  be  good  and  do  good,  he  would  be  tearing 
down  his  own  kingdom. 

Fear  not,  dear  mediums,  there  is  little  danger  of 
“evil  spirits”  from  beyond  the  grave  causing  you  in¬ 
jury.  There  is  infinitely  more  danger  of  evil  spirits 
in  the  flesh  making  you  trouble.  Some  of  them  may 
be  found  among  those  who  are  seeking  to  get  laws 
passed  in  the  legislatures  prohibiting  you  from  prac¬ 
ticing  your  divine  gifts.  Others  may  be  found  among 
those  who  seek  to  destroy  your  religion  by  having  you 
arrested,  fined  and  imprisoned;  other  still,  by  circu¬ 
lating  false  and  slanderous  reports  about  you,  etc. 
Knowing  that  these  evil  disposed  or  ignorant  spirits 
exist  on  this  plane  of  life,  we  can  meet  and  educate 
them  to  a  higher  sphere  of  understanding,  converting 
them  into  good  spirits,  as  Spiritualists  have  done  and 
are  still  doing  to  thousands. 

Dear  mediums,  continue  faithful  in  the  good  work. 
Court  beautiful  spiritual  mediumship.  Trust  your 
spirit  helpers.  Seek  to  bless  the  world  with  your 
powers,  and  fear  not.  Stand  by  one  another  and  the 
cause  of  Modern  Spiritualism.  A  just  reward  will 


/ 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT.  127 

come  to  the  truly  good,  and  you  will  be  greatly  blessed 
in  the  work  of  the  angels. 

Mission  of  Mediumship. 

There  are  many  honorable  callings  in  which  men 
labor,  and  each  one  who  labors  to  improve  the  condi¬ 
tion  of  himself  and  others  is  entitled  to  a  goodly  share 
of  honor  and  appreciation.  Whoever  seeks  to  be  of 
benefit  to  mankind  is  filling  a  useful  place  in  society 
and  in  some  measure  blessing  his  kind. 

There  are  different  kinds  of  labor  and  various  ways 
of  working  for  the  upliftment  of  humanity.  Great 
men  in  many  walks  of  life  have  filled  their  niche  in 
assisting  the  progress  of  the  world.  There  are  noble¬ 
men  in  all  professions,  as  well  as  among  the  unpro¬ 
fessional.  One  may  fill  a  very  important  position  and 
hardly  become  recognized  by  the  world.  The  man 
who  fires  the  boilers  that  generate  the  steam  that  runs 
the  engine  that  pumps  the  water  to  the  many  homes 
of  this  city,  is  filling  just  as  important  a  position  as  is 
the  president  of  the  Water  Commission.  The  most 
obscure  one  of  our  workers  may  be  doing  as  much 
or  even  more  than  some  other  one  whose  name  and 
fame  may  have  encompassed  the  earth.  It  is  true  that 
the  janitor  of  a  building,  though  he  may  not  be  med- 
iumistic  even,  is  a  medium  or  an  instrument  necessary 
to  the  success  of  the  meetings  held  therein. 

We  are  often  told  by  good  and  earnest  people  that 
they  would  be  happy  if  they  could  only  speak  in  pub¬ 
lic,  give  tests,  improvise  poetry,  or  anything  else  to 
help  along  the  cause  of  Spiritualism.  To  such  we  will 
say :  You  can  do  something  to  help  the  cause  even 
if  you  cannot  preach  or  give  a  test.  You  can  enter¬ 
tain  a  medium,  cook  his  meals,  make  his  bed,  arrange 


128 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSHIP — 


for  meetings,  etc.,  and  thus  you  become  a  medium  as¬ 
sisting  the  spirit  world  to  carry  on  the  great  work  of 
Modern  Spiritualism. 

It  is  different,  however,  with  one  who  is  called  to 
expound  from  the  pulpit  or  public  rostrum  its  truth, 
or  to  demonstrate  it  through  mediumship.  Great 
responsibilities  rest  upon  such  mediums.  Some  people 
look  upon  them  as  veritable  saints  and  expect  them 
to  live  up  to  their  idea  of  saintship ;  while  others  who 
are  ignorant  or  undeveloped  look  upon  them  as  the 
vilest  imposters.  So  it  is  that  mediums  and  other 
advocates  of  the  truths  of  Modern  Spiritualism,  like 
the  teachers  of  all  new  and  advanced  religions,  must 
meet  the  unjust  criticisms  and  other  malignant  attacks 
of  the  ignorant  and  uninformed  opposers.  This  fact 
necessitates  their  walking  in  the  straight  and  narrow 
path.  The  beautiful  mission  of  mediumship  is  the 
greatest  of  all  missions,  and  the  labors  of  all  true  de¬ 
voted  mediums  should  be  most  sacredly  prized  and 
carefully  utilized. 

It  is  a  sacred  calling  that  permits  one  to  assuage 
another’s  grief  and  sorrow.  It  is  doubly  so  when  one 
can  become  an  instrument  to  be  used  by  an  angel  to 
communicate  with  his  loved  ones  of  earth.  To  become 
a  medium  through  whom  a  so-called  “dead”  friend 
may  return  and  speak  to  his  loved  ones  in  distress  of 
soul,  awaking  them  to  the  consciousness  of  their  con¬ 
tinued  existence,  and  telling  of  their  undying  love,  is 
the  sweetest  gift  of  God  to  man. 

A  Little  Kindly  Advice. 

Fellow  mediums,  be  true  and  loyal  to  your  heaven 
born  gifts;  walk  uprightly;  think  only  good  thoughts; 
aspire  to  receive  the  good,  pray  for  it,  strive  for  it. 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


129 


trusting  always  in  those  who  guide  you,  and  you  will 
receive  blessings  in  great  abundance. 

Spiritualists  and  investigators,  when  you  enter  the 
seance  room,  be  cheerful,  be  honest,  never  trying  to 
deceive  the  medium  by  using  intrigue,  but  always 
aspiring  for  the  good,  the  true,  the  spiritual.  Let  the 
heartfelt  aspiration  to  communicate  with  your  beloved 
spirit-friends  dominate  your  thoughts.  Let  no  doubts, 
or  thoughts  of  evil  enter  your  minds,  but  trustingly 
crave  a  crumb  of  comfort,  a  word  of  wisdom,  a  little 
kindly  advice  and  sweet  communion  with  your  spirit 
friends.  It  is  with  these  conditions  that  success  is 
attained. 


All  Need  Friends. 

To  have  friends,  one  must  make  them  by  being 
friendly.  If  we  would  be  loved,  we  must  become 
lovely  ourselves. 

Self  Control. 

The  proper  development  of  mediumship  increases 
the  power  of  all  the  other  faculties.  A  person  who  is 
mediumistic  is  sensitive,  and  subject  to  extreme  suf¬ 
fering  and  great  enjoyment.  If  he  is  not  self  poised, 
his  enjoyment  may  lead  to  excesses,  and  his  suffering 
may  be  increased  and  intensified  almost  beyond  en¬ 
durance.  To  learn  to  control  one’s  self  is  a  great 
accomplishment,  and  yet  it  becomes  an  easy  task  when 
we  resolve  to  do  it.  If  we  will  it,  and  constantly 
strive  for  it,  we  make  the  needed  conditions  for  the 
assistance  of  our  spirit  friends,  and  the  more  medium¬ 
istic  we  are  the  more  assistance  we  will  receive. 

In  developing  mediumship  one  should  learn  to  con¬ 
trol  himself  at  all  times  excepting  when  desiring  spirit 


130 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSHIP- 


control.  At  such  times  he  should  freely  receive  the 
spirit  influence  without  fear  or  doubting. 

Dear  mediums,  you  have  been  selected  to  fill  the 
grandest  mission  vouchsafed  to  the  people  of  this  life. 
Prize  your  powers  highly,  and  love  one  another  as 
your  spirit  teachers  love  you.  In  doing  so  you  will 
make  your  own  pathways  bright  and  beautiful,  and 
you  will  bless  those  with  whom  you  associate.  Heav¬ 
en  is  indeed  blessing  you. 

To  the  Reader. 

Now  that  we  have  recorded  these  facts,  and  made 
plain  the  conditions  necessary  for  the  production  of 
Spirit  Phenomena,  the  author  would  explain  his  posi¬ 
tion  regarding  them.  The  phenomena  of  Spiritualism 
of  ancient  and  modern  times  are  natural  phenomena. 
They  were,  and  are  now,  governed  by  natural  law. 
Therefore  they  should  not  be  classed  as  miracles,  as 
the  Christian  Church  has  denominated  those  of  the 
Bible. 

Spirit  Phenomena  of  the  physical  and  mental  phases 
constitute  the  only  absolute  proof  of  a  life  after  death 
that  mortal  man  has  ever  receiyed.  They  constitute 
the  fundamental  principles  upon  which  every  religion 
is  founded,  and  in  this  fact  every  religion  has  a  sub¬ 
stantial  basis  of  truth.  Men  after  witnessing  these 
phenomena,  at  different  times,  in  different  ages,  have 
interpreted  them  in  different  ways,  according  to  their 
ability,  or  lack  of  ability,  both  of  which  are  clearly  to 
be  seen  in  the  creeds  of  the  many  different  religions 
of  the  world. 

Spirit  Phenomena  are  as  beautiful  and  sacred,  as 
they  are  necessary  for  the  enlightenment  of  mankind, 
although  they  are  but  the  stepping  stones  to  higher 


HOW  TO  DEVELOP  IT. 


131 


conditions.  They  constitute  the  base  of  a  great  struc¬ 
ture, — the  foundation  upon  which  is  built  the  most 
beautiful,  uplifting  and  inspiring  Spiritual  Philosophy 
— the  only  truly  scientific  and  natural  religion. 

As  much  as  we  love  the  phenomena  of  Spiritualism, 
in  its  many  wonderful  and  beautiful  phases,  we  could 
not  be  content  with  it  alone  and  seek  no  farther.  In 
short,  we  have  traced  the  phenomena  to  the  cause  pro¬ 
ducing  them,  and  they  have  brought  us  in  touch  with 
spiritual  beings  who  possess  the  knowledge  that  all 
people  of  this  world  sorely  need.  These  beloved  spir¬ 
its  have  taught  us  many  truths,  which  are  embodied  in 
Spiritual  Science.  This  Spiritual  Science  constitutes 
our  religion.  What  we  have  learned  of  it  appeals  to 
our  soul’s  highest  and  holiest  aspirations.  The  more 
we  learn  of  it  the  happier  we  become.  The  more  we 
receive  of  it,  the  more  of  heaven  we  enjoy.  The 
author  being  a  medium  himself  it  becomes  his  daily 
blessing.  O  the  sacredness  of  daily  communion  with 
the  angels ! 

The  glory  of  Modern  Spiritualism  is  great.  The 
beauty  and  reality  of  the  truths  of  this  religious 
science,  this  scientific  religion,  words  are  too  weak  to 
tell.  When  it  is  understood  that  it  reunites  us  with 
our  darlings  who  have  left  us,  and  that  they  again 
become  our  daily  companions,  its  blessings  may  be 
realized  to  some  extent. 

It  is  advisable  for  all  who  contemplate  investigat¬ 
ing  Modern  Spiritualism,  first  to  become  familiar  with 
its  teachings,  especially  with  the  laws  governing  med- 
iumship  and  methods  used  by  spirits  in  communicat¬ 
ing;  and  second,  learning  what  is  required  of  the  in¬ 
vestigators,  as  well  as  the  necessary  conditions  re¬ 
quired  of  the  medium,  in  order  to  secure  good  results. 


132 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSHIP 


When  equipped  with  all  of  this  knowledge,  the  honest 
investigator  will  enter  the  seance  room  with  a  prayer 
in  his  heart,  a  tender  and  holy  aspiration  in  his  soul, 
a  beautiful  complacency,  pervading  his  being,  and  the 
tender  love  for  his  darlings  in  spirit  life  dominating 
his  entire  nature.  Then  will  he  be  in  condition  to 
open  the  gates  of  heaven  and  welcome  the  angel 
visitors. 

Contrast  the  above  described  conditions  with  the 
conditions  in  which  the  ignorant  and  unsophisticated 
investigator  usually  enters  the  seance  room.  In  doing 
so  one  will  soon  learn  why  some  people  do  not  get 
satisfactory  results  in  seances.  Ignorance  is  man’s 
worst  enemy.  Knowledge  and  wisdom  are  man’s  best 
friends.  A  knowledge  of  the  truths  of  Modern  Spirit¬ 
ualism  is  man’s  greatest  blessing. 

In  Conclusion. 

May  this  work  prove  a  help  and  a  blessing  to  many 
of  the  earnest  and  sincere  aspirants  for  the  good  and 
true  in  mediumship.  May  the  dear  mediums  and 
other  faithful  workers  in  the  cause  of  Modern  Spirit¬ 
ualism  be  encouraged  to  put  forth  greater  effort  in 
advancing  our  movement,  which  is  now  growing  very 
fast  and  is  rapidly  enlightening  the  world.  May  all 
receive  the  blessings  of  heaven  in  as  full  measure  as 
they  have  been,  and  are  still  being  received  by 

The  Author. 


133 


Book  Announcements 


A  FUTURE  LIFE  DEMONSTRATED 

or 

TWENTY-SEVEN  YEARS  A  PUBLIC  MEDIUM. 

By  E.  W.  Sprague. 

The  author  and  his  good  wife,  Mrs.  C.  A.  Sprague, 
are  well  known  workers  in  the  cause  of  Spiritualism 
and  have  many  dear  friends  throughout  the  land. 
They  have  served  the  National  Spiritualists’  Asso¬ 
ciation  for  thirteen  consecutive  years  as  missionaries, 
visiting  a  large  majority  of  the  states  of  the  Union, 
holding  meetings  and  seances,  giving  lectures,  and 
exercising  their  mediumship  from  the  public  rostrum. 

The  book  contains  a  brief  sketch  of  Mr.  Sprague's 
ancestry,  early  life,  opportunities  for  education,  giving 
details  regarding  the  development  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Sprague  as  mediums.  It  is  replete  with  detailed  rec¬ 
ords  of  spirit  manifestations,  spirit  phenomena,  spirit 
communications,  tests,  and  messages  which  were  given 
to  hundreds  in  the  presence  of  thousands  of  people 
throughout  the  country. 

In  this  work  Mr.  Sprague  claims  to  have  demon¬ 
strated  that  the  work  of  “mind-readers,”  Prof.  Sun- 
deen,  the  Swedish  mind-reader,  and  Prof.  Seymour  of 
the  United  States,  at  least,  is  produced  by  spirits.  His 
tests  as  applied  to  that  phase  of  occult  phenomena 
seem  to  leave  no  doubt  of  the  truth  of  his  claim. 

He  also  emphatically  claims  and  aims  to  prove  that 
A  FUTURE  LIFE  IS  AS  CERTAINLY  DEMON¬ 
STRATED  by  Modern  Spiritualism  as  is  the  law  of 
gravitation  or  the  daily  revolution  of  the  earth. 


134 


Mr.  Sprague’s  wide  experience,  both  with  his  own 
well  developed  mediumship  and  that  of  Mrs. 
Sprague’s,  as  well  as  of  many  other  mediums  for  va¬ 
rious  phases  with  whom  he  has  come  in  contact  in 
his  experience  of  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century, 
gives  strength  to  his  claims.  He  declares  that  if 
these  recorded  facts  do  not  demonstrate  a  future  life 
for  mankind,  it  is  useless  to  look  for  accurate  proof 
of  anything,  or  to  try  to  demonstrate  the  simplest 
fact  in  nature  as  being  certainly  true. 

We  grieve  for  our  loved  ones  who  have  passed  out 
of  this  life,  and  we  know  that  we,  too,  must  pass  away. 
This  book  contains  abundant  proof  that  these  loved 
ones  live  beyond  the  grave,  and  that  they  can  and  do 
return  and  communicate  with  us.  A  knowledge  of 
this  fact  is  a  great  consolation  to  the  grief-stricken 
ones  left  behind,  and  it  also  largely  eliminates  the 
great  fear  of  death  with  which  many  are  made  mis¬ 
erable. 

This  work  is  sent  forth  with  the  fervent  prayer 
that  it  may  be  the  means  of  blessing  many  suffering 
ones  as  greatly  as  the  truths  it  contains  have  blessed 
its  author. 

The  book  contains  362  pages  of  closely  printed  mat¬ 
ter,  also  excellent  portraits  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sprague. 
It  is  handsomely  bound  in  cloth. 

The  price  of  the  book  is  $1.00,  postage  paid. 


135 


“MODERN  SPIRITUALISM,” 

TESTIMONIES  OF  LEADING  SCIENTISTS 
and 

PROMINENT  THEOLOGIANS, 

WHO,  THROUGH  CAREFUL  INVESTIGATION, 
HAVE  BECOME  BELIEVERS  IN 
ITS  TRUTH. 

By  Rev.  E.  W.  Sprague. 

This  little  work  is  published  in  the  hope  of  enlight¬ 
ening  some  of  the  law-makers  and  those  who  execute 
the  laws,  who,  in  their  ignorance,  or  misunderstanding 
of  the  subject  of  Modern  Spiritualism,  class  spirit 
mediums  with  “fortune  tellers”  and  “fakirs,”  and 
Spiritualists  with  “fools,”  “lunatics,”  “gullibles,”  etc., 
arresting,  fining,  and  sometimes  imprisoning  its  med¬ 
iums.  In  doing  this,  they  prejudice  the  public,  creat¬ 
ing  erroneous  opinions  regarding  the  subject  and  do- 
ing  great  injustice  to  a  good  cause,  as  well  as  bring¬ 
ing  persecution  upon  a  worthy,  sincere  and  law-abid¬ 
ing  people. 

The  information  contained  in  this  pamphlet  is  of 
great  value  and  it  should  be  scattered  broadcast.  Es¬ 
pecially  should  it  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  Clergy¬ 
men  and  other  church  members,  Legislators,  Judges, 
Jurors,  Editors,  Reporters,  Policemen,  and  other  offi¬ 
cials  of  States,  Counties,  and  Municipalities.  It  should 
also  be  circulated  among  the  officers  and  members  of 
Spiritualist  societies,  and  given  to  believers  and  un¬ 
believers  everywhere.  The  distribution  of  this  little 
pamphlet  is  missionary  work,  and  is  doing  much  good. 
Dear  reader,  will  you  assist  by  sending  in  your  orders 
at  once? 

The  price  is  as  follows: — 


Single  Pamphlet,  postage  paid . $  .10 

3  pamphlets  “  “  25 

1  dozen  Pamphlets  “  “  80 

50  Pamphlets  “  “  3.00 

100  Pamphlets  “  “  5.00 


136 


SPIRIT  MEDIUMSHIP. 

ITS  VARIOUS  PHASES, 

HOW  DEVELOPED  AND  SAFELY  PRACTICED. 
A  COMPENDIUM  OF  PSYCHIC  SCIENCE  FOR 

SEANCES,  CIRCLES,  PSYCHIC  CLASSES  AND 
INDIVIDUAL  USE. 

THE  MEDIUMS’  COMPANION  AND  GUIDE. 

By  Rev.  E.  W.  Sprague. 

Ex-Missionary  of  the  National  Spiritualists’  Association 
of  the  United  States  of  America. 

In  publishing  this  book  the  author  hopes  to  be  of 
some  assistance  in  eliminating  the  absurd  and  ridicu¬ 
lous  vagaries  that  have  become  attached  to  Spiritua¬ 
lism  and  mediumship ;  and  to  assist  in  counteracting 
the  extravagant  and  unjust  claims  of  some  of  its  op¬ 
ponents  regarding  “The  dangers  of  Psychism,”  or  the 
practice  of  mediumship ;  but  most  of  all,  to  give  en¬ 
couragement  and  assistance  to  mediums  in  their  laud¬ 
able  efforts  to  unfold  the  beautiful  faculty  of  medium- 
ship.  Every  well  developed  medium  and  every  well 
informed  Spiritualist  knows  that  the  application  of 
the  teachings  of  Spiritualism  is  the  salvation  of  man¬ 
kind,  and  that  Modern  Spirit-Mediumship  is  the  rock 
upon  which  Spiritualism  rests. 

It  is  therefore  true  that  the  development  of  a  safe 
and  sane  mediumship  is  a  fact  of  the  most  vital  im¬ 
portance. 

The  author  being  a  public  medium  of  thirty  years’ 
experience,  has  gathered  many  valuable  facts  regard¬ 
ing  the  subject,  some  of  which  have  never  been  pub¬ 
lished  before. 

This  work  is  a  text  book  of  Psychic  Science  de¬ 
signed  for  use  in  the  developing  circle  and  in  psychic 
classes. 

It  contains  137  pages,  also  an  excellent  portrait  of 
the  author,  and  is  bound  in  full  cloth,  embossed  in 
gold.  It  becomes  a  valuable  addition  to  one’s 
library.  Price  $1.25,  postage  paid. 

Address  orders  to  REV.  E.  W.  SPRAGUE, 

251  West  Canfield  Ave.  DETROIT,  MICH. 


137 


THE  SCIENCE  OF  SPIRIT  COMMUNION 

ANALYZED  AND  EXPLAINED. 

By  E.  W.  Sprague. 

This  pamphlet  is  the  second  one  of  a  contemplated 
series  of  similar  ones  explaining  the  facts,  philosophy, 
science,  and  religion  of  Modern  Spiritualism,  and  de¬ 
signed  for  missionary  work. 

In  this  work  Mr.  Sprague  makes  the  claim — which 
is  sanctioned  by'  Prof.  Alfred  R.  Wallace  of  England 
and  other  leading  scientists  of  the  world — that  spirit 
communion  is  as  scientifically  proven  as  is  any  other 
TacT  in" nature,  and  his  conclusions  are  as  truly  logical 
as  they  are  deeply  interesting.  Mr.  Sprague  being  a 
medium  himself  and  having  spent  many  years  in  the 
practice  of  his  mediumistic  powers,  receiving  and  giv¬ 
ing  spirit  messages  from  the  public  rostrum,  in  the 
seance  room,  and  in  private,  is  considered  more  thor¬ 
oughly  qualified  to  speak  upon  this  all-important  sub¬ 
ject  than  are  some,  otherwise  wise  men  who  have  no 
mediumship,  and  have  had  comparatively  little  exper¬ 
ience  in  such  matters.  The  one  who  writes  upon  a 
subject  with  which  he  is  not  familiar,  injures  himself 
greatly,  but  he  injures  his  readers,  by  misleading  them, 
infinitely  more. 

The  price  of  this  pamphlet  is  as  follows : 


Single  Pamphlet,  postage  paid . 

3  Pamphlets  “  “  . 

. $  .10 

. 25 

1  dozen  Pamphlets  “  “  . 

. 80 

50  Pamphlets  “  “  . 

.  3.00 

100  Pamphlets  “  “  . 

.  5.00 

Address  REV.  E.  W.  SPRAGUE, 

251  West  Canfield  Avenue, 

DETROIT,  Mich. 


These  books  are  filled  with  facts  of  intense  interest 
and  should  be  in  the  possession  of  all  Spiritualists  and 
others  who  are  interested  in  the  problem  of  a  future 
life  for  themselves  and  for  the  human  race. 


DUKE  UNIVERSITY 
LIBRARY 


DURHAM,  NORTH  CAROLINA 
27706 


